Venom Coursing
Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.
Chapter 3 – Knowing
As Michael and the others arrived at the new hideout with Riku in tow, when they arrived they went into a living room.
"Alright before we do anything, we need to decide what to do." Heidern said and then looked at Riku. "It would also be a good idea for you to tell us about your involvement in all of this as well, kid. Given the circumstances, it would probably be best if we work together on this."
"No problem at all, sir." Riku replied. "I'll explain once we get settled in. Is that alright with you?"
Heidern nodded and the whole group then proceeded to unload their equipment and belongings.
"Alright, Riku, what's your involvement with Bulgarin?" asked Michael as they settled down.
"Well, I've been sent on a mission from FOXHOUND, that's the name of my group, to spy on General Bulgarin." Riku answered. "We had received reports of some project called WOTAN, and I was sent to aid in investigating the matter."
"WOTAN?" Clark asked.
"The code name comes from the Germanic name of the Norse God Odin." Michael answered him and then turned back to Riku. "But enough of that for now. So Riku, can you tell us anything about this project?"
"Not much, I'm afraid." Riku replied. "All I know only that its some kind of experimental weapons project. You guys got any info on this?"
"Riku listen…" said Leona turning to her adoptive father who nodded his approval and they began telling Riku of their own experiences with Bulgarin and then Michael told his own story. It was during the halfway point of his story that Michael realized something and his eyes widened.
"New experimental WOTAN be the code name of a new Metal Gear?" Michael thought out loud.
"Of course! This is beginning to make sense!" Heidern said as he realized what Michael was saying. "Not only in the way all of this fits together, but originally, technology for previous Metal Gears came from Russia."
"Now that you mention it, I also heard about some other project called SURTUR during the mission, but I don't know much more than the name of it." Riku spoke. "However, from what I've been able to gather, I can say for sure that it's somehow in conjunction with WOTAN, along the name of the project director. Professor Ivan Korzhakov."
"Ivan Korzhakov?" Michael muttered "I've heard about him somewhere…"
"Who is he?" asked Leona.
"I don't know much about him, I'm sorry to say." Michael shrugged. "I only know that he's a genius scientist; particularly in the fields of Micro biology, nano biology, genetics and virology."
"Well then, how about we pay the Prof. a visit?" Ralf asked and turned to Riku. "Hey Riku, you got a location on him?"
"Yeah, his residence is actually nearby in a small town in Siberia." Riku answered. "I was originally going to head there after I'd gotten as much information from spying on Bulgarin, but you know what happened..."
"Well, General, do you think this is a good idea for our next course of action?" Clark asked, turning to Heidern.
"I couldn't really think of a better one." Heidern answered and then got up out of his seat. "Alright, let's move out."
As they prepared to leave, Heidern turned to Michael.
"Michael, do you have a codec?" He asked.
Michael nodded then he turned to Riku, who also nodded.
"Good, if you need to contact us, my frequency is 187.51, Leona's is 174.11, Ralf's is 181.50 and Clark's is 182.05." Michael said.
"No problem." Riku replied. "And if you need to contact me, my frequency is 107.89."
"Alright then, let's head out."
The drive took hours, but they eventually arrived at the address, which was a large and old house that was in the center of the Siberian town. The group cautiously took their positions, quietly surrounding the house. When they did, Michael looked at the house through binoculars and noticed two men. One was standing just outside the front door of the house the other was in the backyard; both of the men were carrying automatic rifles and were looking around carefully. Michael suddenly heard his codec beep.
"What's the situation Michael?" Heidern asked as his face appeared on the codec screen.
"There are two men that appear to be guarding the place." Michael answered. "Judging from their appearance, they're probably bodyguards. Apart from Korzhakov, I'd say that they're the only ones in the house."
"Alright, that gives us the perfect opportunity then." Heidern said. "Contact Riku and tell him to take care of the guard in the front. Leona will handle the other one."
"Understood." Michael replied and proceeded to contact Riku.
Riku walked around the house keeping an eye the bodyguard out front as he came out of the front door. When he was sure that the guard was going to stay where he was, Riku walked casually towards the guard, who immediately pointed his rifle at him.
"Freeze!" The guard commanded and Riku raised his arms into the air. The guard then walked towards him, and as he did, Riku suddenly vanished. The guard immediately looked around to see where the ninja had gone, only to be tackled at his blind side and shoved against the wall.
"Let me guess, this is your first day on the job, right?" Riku asked, holding the man firmly against the wall with his right arm, and then reached to his pocket with his free hand, drawing out two senbon needles.
"Prissy bastard…" the bodyguard bitched but was cut off by Riku who rendered him unconscious with a stab to certain pressure points in his neck, using his Wyvern Sting technique.
When he was sure that the guard was unconscious, Riku turned his codec to the appropriate frequency.
"This is Riku; I've taken care of the guy in front." He reported.
"Leona here, I've taken care of the other one." Leona's voice reported just after Riku.
"Alright, we're going in." Heidern said.
Michael made his way into the residence, with the others close behind him. They were checking to make sure that there weren't anymore guards in the house. A few minutes later, Michael came upon a room that looked like a study. He cautiously went into the room and saw an average sized man with Brown hair and eyes in his mid forties working at a computer. He was wearing glasses and a typical lab uniform.
"What is it you want Pushkin? I'm busy!" The man snapped, but when he turned around and took notice of Michael and the others, he saw that the entrants weren't who he was expecting.
"Who are you!?" The man demanded, quickly turning off the computer. "What do you want!?"
"You are Professor Korzhakov?" Leona asked.
"Yes that's me, who are you?" Korzhakov snapped.
"We'll be asking the questions, Poindexter!" Ralf replied.
"We've got some questions to ask you Professor, about a certain project of yours called SURTUR." Heidern added soft menace evident in his voice. "I strongly suggest you answer them, if you'd like to keep your health."
"What makes you think I'll tell you anything?" Korzhakov sneered.
"Oh but I think you will." Heidern replied.
"Torture won't work on me." Korzhakov said arrogantly. "I've had the appropriate training to resist it."
"Care to put that to the test?" Heidern asked in reply.
Korzhakov hesitated, small beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.
"General, if you like, I could get the answers out of him." Riku offered.
"How would you do that?" Heidern asked.
"It's a bit complicated to explain, but this method won't be as messy as torture would." Riku answered. "It might even be more successful."
"Very well, then." Heidern replied and then turned to Ralf and Clark, who nodded and then proceeded to restrain the professor.
"What are you going to do?" Korzhakov asked Riku as he walked up to him.
"Oh, nothing much." Riku replied with a friendly smile. "I'm just going to show you something, and all you need to do is watch." Riku then pressed his hand together and muttered. "Rui."
Korzhakov's face was the same for a moment, and suddenly his expression became a mask of fear and he started thrashing around screaming.
"NO! NO! KEEP AWAY FROM ME!!" He screamed in terror, his whole body shaking in fear.
"Damn it!" Ralf swore as he and Clark fought to keep the terror stricken scientist from breaking free. "What the hell did you do to him, Riku?"
"I'll explain in a moment." Riku replied and then focused his attention to Korzhakov. "Well, professor, are you in a talking mood yet? When you are, I'll make it go away."
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!!" Korzhakov shouted his voice desperate. "I'll tell you whatever you want, just take it away, please!"
"No problem, but before I do, I want you to keep in mind that if you lie about a single thing, I'll call it back." Riku warned. "And this time it will stay permanently."
The man's face paled considerably, but he nodded to show he understood.
"That's a good boy." Riku said with a smile and then made a gesture. He then turned to Heidern. "He's all yours, sir."
"So what did you do to him?" Clark asked. "I've never seen anyone do that before."
"I just used a little genjutsu trick that showed the good professor over there what he feared the most." Riku answered. "It's a bit too complicated to explain the jutsu, but it is much more affective than torture is."
"Alright, Korzhakov, start talking." Heidern ordered. "What is SURTUR supposed to be?"
"It's a type of biological weapon designed using several strains of viruses." Korzhakov answered, glancing at Riku nervously. "It's quite deadly, and an amount no larger than a baseball could turn a whole city into a graveyard."
"Why would you make something like that?" Riku asked.
"Originally, the Soviet Union gave me an opportunity to practice my science to create SURTUR, and Bulgarin took over sponsoring me when the last Soviet splinter factions stopped supporting my research." Korzhakov said with a slight smile. "Naturally I wouldn't waste such a fine opportunity."
"You mean you volunteered to make something that can kill God knows how many people?!" Riku exclaimed.
"So, what's your point, boy? The earth is populated by billions of people; I'm sure that a few billion less as a result of SURTUR won't make any difference. After a few years, I'm sure the number will be replenished, but a true travesty would be not to create SURTUR and put it to use."
"All in the name of science, I suppose." Riku shot a murderous glare at Korzhakov. "You make me sick."
"That will be enough." Heidern said firmly and glared at Korzhakov. "Just answer the rest of our questions, and keep your views to yourself." He then turned to Riku. "And Riku, just listen and don't talk to him."
"Yes, sir." Riku replied.
"Now tell us this." Heidern ordered Korzhakov. "What is WOTAN supposed to be?"
"It's…well, it's…" Korzhakov stammered, not sure whether to tell them the truth or not.
"Is it a new type of Metal Gear?" Michael asked.
"How did you know that?!" Korzhakov exclaimed.
"We're the ones asking the questions, professor." Leona reminded him. "Judging from your reaction though, it's painfully obvious that Michael's theory was correct. So what's SURTUR's connection to WOTAN?"
"WOTAN is to be equipped with SURTUR in order to use it as its main assault on enemies." Korzhakov replied. "It's nearly finished being constructed."
"How much time till it is?" Heidern asked.
"Soon enough, my friend, soon enough." Korzhakov grinned.
"Be more specific." Heidern growled. "When will it be completed?"
"In at least a week, maybe a few days more, after which, it will immediately be equipped with the equipment to use SURTUR."
"Where is it being constructed?"
"Well, it's…" Korzhakov began and then suddenly swung his head back, striking Clark in the face, causing his grip to loosen. Wiggling out of Ralf's grip, Korzhakov made a dash for the window, and crashed through the glass. He then ran to where his truck was parked, got in, and quickly drove out of the driveway.
"Shit! He got away!" Clark swore.
"Maybe we can still follow…" Michael began to suggest, but then stopped when he heard the sound of approaching vehicles.
"I'll check it out." Riku volunteered, drawing out a kunai shuriken and walking out of the room.
"I'd better come with you just in case." Michael said, following Riku.
Michael went with Riku to investigate the noise they had heard outside and saw a group of Spetznaz and a tall brown haired man in his mid forties with brown hair and a neatly trimmed goatee wearing the uniform of a Russian Army Colonel.
"Well now Hansen, fancy finding you here." The man smirked then turned on a radio "Severin here, General, we've located Hansen and the Ikari Team and have also found that FOXHOUND punk…yes sir."
Severin then grinned at the two sadistically.
"I'm afraid that I have no choice but to terminate the lot of you." He said and then turned to his men who had their rifles ready. "You may fire when rea…" He was interrupted as Riku threw handfuls of small sizzling black balls in his direction.
There was suddenly a multitude of brightly colored flashes that covered the soldiers. Some of them cried out in pain as the sparks of the explosives burned them along with blinding their view.
"Fireworks?" Michael asked, sweat dropping.
"Call Heidern and tell him, I've covered our escape, and hurry I don't have very many of these!" Riku shouted.
"Got it!" Michael said in reply, and then ran back to the study.
"Bulgarin's men have found us." He said to Heidern and the rest of the Ikari team. "Riku's distracting them, now let's head out the back and quick!"
"Alright." Heidern said. "Let's go!"
Meanwhile:
Riku ducked behind a large piece of furniture as the Spetznaz soldiers were taking blind shots in his direction. The soldiers had multiple burns on their arms, legs, and faces from the fireworks he had thrown at them.
(It won't be long until those guys get their vision back, and then they'll know exactly where to aim those guns of theirs.) Riku thought as drew out a throwing star shuriken. He then threw it in the direction of one of the soldiers. The soldier who was struck screamed as the shuriken pierced his forehead before tumbling to the floor dead.
"Riku, everyone's out now!" Leona's voice called from the far back. "Get out of there!"
"I hear ya!" Riku shouted and then took out a red and black ball about the size of a grapefruit. He then touched the wick and it immediately caught fire. Riku quickly hurled it in the direction of the soldiers and dashed down the hallway to the back door. As he did he heard a loud bang, followed by a series of smaller ones, which were accompanied by the screams of the soldiers.
(Maybe that one was a little too much.) Riku thought as he ran out the door, but not before leaving a handful of caltrops behind for any of the soldiers who tried to follow. (…Nah.)
As Michael watched Riku rejoin the group, he suddenly remembered something.
(Come to think of it, how did Riku light all those fireworks so fast?) He wondered. (I don't remember seeing him with any matches or lighters…)
Meanwhile: Back at the House:
Severin and the surviving men of his unit were quickly applying a salve for burns on the ones that had been inflicted on them, especially by Riku's last firecracker. Almost half of Severin's goatee had been burnt off along with all of his eyebrows.
Severin gritted his teeth in pain as one of the blisters on his arms popped by accident.
(That FOXHOUND brat is going to pay for this; I will make sure of it.) He vowed as he continued to rub salve on his burns. (When we capture him, I will ensure he suffers considerably before he dies as payback for this humiliation.)
They made the move yet again until they found yet another hideout, an old abandoned church. The group again sat down, this time on the remains of some old warped pews, to think of another course of action.
"Well, that was illuminating." Michael commented to Riku dryly.
"Thank you." Riku replied. "I made the fireworks myself. My family owns a fireworks shop back in Japan, and making fireworks has become a hobby of mine."
"Getting into the family business, eh?" Leona asked.
"You could say that." Riku answered with a friendly grin and then turned to Heidern. "So what's next? Bulgarin probably knows about our meeting with Korzhakov by now."
"Well at least we now know for sure that WOTAN is a new Metal Gear and that SURTUR is some kind of viral weapon with roots back to the Soviet Union." Heidern spoke.
"But the little weasel didn't give us the location of the fucking thing!" Ralf cursed.
"Be that as it may, we've managed to get more information than we had a few days ago." Clark reminded him. He then turned to Heidern. "So what's our next COA?"
"Okay, Korzhakov said the minimum time they can complete WOTAN is by next week. We have at least that time to find out where it is." Heidern replied.
"Riku, have you reported to FOXHOUND about this?" Leona asked.
Riku sighed "Yeah, but Reese pretty much dismissed it all. He said that unless I had reliable proof to support this, he wouldn't send back up or report any of this to Campbell."
"Reese?" asked Heidern "Do you mean Matthew Reese?"
"Huh?" Riku blinked in surprise. "You know him?"
"Unfortunately…yes." Heidern said with a sigh, rolling his eye. "A complete incompetent when it came to commanding an operation. Not to mention that because of that man's actions, casualties, for the ones he was commanding as well as civilians, which could easily have been prevented, occurred."
"Yeah, that's pretty much the Reese we FOXHOUNDers know and loathe." Riku replied in agreement. "In fact, he's the reason I was being chased by Bulgarin's men yesterday."
"What do you mean?" Michael asked.
"Well, the spying part of my mission was going just fine, but Reese gave me some new orders to change that. For some reason, that feeble-minded fool decided to suddenly change the mission objective from spying, to assassination. I don't even think he even asked Campbell for permission to change the objectives just like that." Riku explained. "It's like he wants me to fail this mission."
"You mean you couldn't talk him out of it?"
"I tried, Michael. God knows I tried." Riku groaned. "I told him that I didn't have the equipment for that and the situation showed that I would need more time to gather more information on this since it was obviously important, but that jackass in charge just wouldn't listen to me and made sure that his orders stood. I think I'd have had better luck explaining common sense to a rock."
"So what did you do?"
"I gathered as much extra info as I could before I decided to give poisoning a try." Riku then looked at Michael and the others. "Alright, before you say anything, I didn't particularly like the idea of killing someone that way, but I didn't have many options that would guarantee my being able to escape once Bulgarin croaked. Unfortunately for me, I was somehow discovered and had to run for my life. I tried calling for backup, but Reese refused and said that it was my job to get out of the situation and not his. And that pretty much brings us up to yesterday."
"It seems he hasn't changed a bit." Heidern said with a shake of his head, and then walked to the door of the old church. "I'll head out and talk to some contacts I have in this area."
"I'll come with you, sir." Clark volunteered and followed Heidern out.
"So what do we do now?" Ralf asked.
"It looks like we have no choice but to wait around until they get back." Leona answered.
The four of them just sat there in silence until Michael spoke, taking out a small pocket chess set.
"Anyone feel like a game?" He asked.
"No thanks, man." Ralf replied. "You always seem to get me in checkmate after the first five rounds, and that's if I get lucky."
"I wouldn't mind a game." Riku spoke. "I've played a bit of shogi before, along with a bit of go, though I'm not all that good at that."
"I can teach you sometime." Michael offered. "But chess is more my specialty than go."
"No prob. I've heard chess isn't all that different from shogi." Riku replied.
"There are a few differences…" Michael said.
Later:
It took Michael a little over half an hour to explain to Riku the difference between chess and shogi, after that the two of them began their game, and half an hour later, they were still playing the same game and it was Riku's turn.
"Gotcha." Riku said, moving his rook in front of his king, which was still on the first line, which had it facing Michael's king. "Check."
Michael didn't say anything, and calmly moved his queen to take Riku's rook, putting it right in front of Riku's king.
"Checkmate." He said.
"Wait a minute how is…" Riku started and then noticed one of Michael's knights was poised to take Riku's king if he used it to take Michael's queen. Riku then shrugged and tipped his king over. "You beat me, Mike."
"You didn't do all that bad yourself." Michael commented. "And thank you. Would you care for a second game?"
"My brain's fried as of now." Riku replied and looked over at Leona. "Why don't you try?"
"Unfortunately, I've had my share off losses against Michael, so I'm afraid I have to decline." Leona replied.
"I guess that leaves me without anything to do." Riku sighed as he lay back onto one of the pews. "Damn I wish I'd brought a book or something to keep me occupied."
The old church was silent for a few minutes until Riku looked over at Michael.
"You know, maybe it would be a good idea if we chat a bit to pass the time." He suggested.
"Sure, why not?" Michael said. "So, why not tell us a little about yourself first?"
"Well let's see…" Riku began. "Alright, as you know, my name is Riku Hanabishi, and I'm a ninja recruited by FOXHOUND. I enjoy sleeping, making fireworks, anime, and hanging out with my friends, and I hate Matthew Reese and not having enough sleep." This last statement caused everyone else in the room to sweat drop.
"Well, at least he's honest." Michael spoke.
"Yeah, not many people would include their likes and dislikes in an introduction." Leona agreed. "A bit unusual for a ninja since they're usually more secretive about personal things."
"I trust you guys enough." Riku shrugged. "Also that info probably won't be much use in enemy hands."
"Do you have any, well, dreams for the future?" Michael asked and then looked at Riku apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry; I'm just curious. I mean…"
"A fifteen year old ninja in FOXHOUND is a bit unusual." Riku finished with a friendly smile. "Well, I'm afraid my main dream for the future is private. I can tell you that it has to do with my being a shinobi, but enough about that."
"You're fifteen?!" Ralf exclaimed. "Aren't you a little young to be…?"
"I had reasons for becoming a member of FOXHOUND." Riku explained. "One reason was so I could protect my clan from hostile organizations, and FOXHOUND offered benefits to help with that. And don't be too worried about my age; after all you could see I can hold my own in battle well enough."
"Can I ask you one more question?" Michael asked and Riku nodded. "What ninja clan are you from? I mean if it's alright for you to tell us."
"My clan is called Hokage." Riku answered. "I doubt you've heard of us, though."
"I'm afraid I haven't." Michael admitted. "Like I told you before, a close friend of mine is a ninja, and she's from the Shiranui clan, along with her adopted brother. I haven't heard her mention a clan by that name before."
"The reason is because my clan was nearly exterminated by Oda Nobunaga centuries ago, but let's not turn this into a history lesson. Why not tell me a little about you now?"
"What would you like to know?"
"Well, I'm interested in how you know the famous Ikari team, for one. Not to mention how you're acquainted with the Shiranui clan; I'm afraid my clan hasn't been in much contact with the other ninja clans."
"Well, to answer your first question, I've known these guys for quite a while, but I've known Heidern the longest." Michael answered. "When I had finished training with the Green Berets when I was nineteen, Heidern saved my life during one of my missions for them. After that, he took me under his wing and trained me and it was during that time that I met Ralf and Clark and I've known Leona since Heidern took her in."
"I can tell from how you're talking that everyone in this group is like family to you." Riku noted while smiling. "In ninja terms, they're like your clan, huh? Anyway, how do you know ninjas from the Shiranui clan?"
"Well, the one I know the best is a woman named Mai." Michael replied. "She was having some personal problems when I first ran into her, anyway, a few things happened and we became good friends not too long after. Later on, I met her adopted younger brother, Hokutomaru."
"Hey, just wondering, but could you ever introduce me to these two someday?" Riku asked. "The only ninjas I've met are the ones in my clan and I'm pretty curious to meet other fellow ninjas from different clans, as long as they're friendly of course. After over four hundred years, I think it's time for the Hokage to make some contact with the other clans."
"I'll introduce you if I ever get the chance." Michael answered. "By the way, could you tell me something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"I noticed that you lit those fireworks of yours very quickly and you didn't seem to be using any lighters or matches. How did you do that?"
(Oh crap!) Riku thought. (He noticed!)
"Well...that's..." Riku began wondering if he should tell Michael his secret or not.
Suddenly the door opened and Heidern and Clark walked in. Heidern made a quick glance out of the door to make sure that no one had followed them before quickly closing it.
"Well, did you guys find anything?" Ralf asked.
"Yes, we were able to find out where WOTAN is being constructed." Heidern answered.
"How'd you manage to find that out?" Riku spoke.
"I noticed that some of Bulgarin's men were having a bit of a friendly chat over drinks at the local bar." Clark answered. "I decided I'd buy them some more and join their conversation. It took some time and drinks, but they were more than happy to talk to me about anything soon after."
"I guess that means we'd better make plans to pay where ever they're keeping WOTAN a visit, huh?" Ralf said with a grin. "So where's the thing being built?"
"It's a facility near the town of Dagestan. A 5000 year old town around the base of the Tabasaran Mountains." Heidern replied "We better get ready to leave immediately."
All in the room nodded their understanding