Part 2

Prologue

Diamond Dog's chopper hovers over the deserted landscape of Afghanistan. The loud noise from its fan blades echoes through the distance. The burning sun heated the scorching sands. Complemented with the clear blue sky. Two soldiers and the pilot are on their way home. A young male soldier turns on a cigarette. His forehead covered in sweat and blood, rubbing his eye the dirt and grime off. Sitting on the edge taking a breather.

The female soldier stands beside him, looking over at the fleeting landscape, the entire canyon-like structures and rock mazes. She takes out a cigarette and lights it on. Glancing over the male soldier, the two had just shared an intense battle escaping from an outpost after sabotaging enemy communications.

They barely escaped with their lives, but this was nothing new for them. The female soldier squeezes his shoulder, giving him an affectionate look. He reciprocates her look, feeling all but secure and joyful with her by his side. Sharing a silent tender moment, as the chopper heads home. They look ahead to the unknown.

Chapter 12 Silence in Outer Heaven part 1

A woman donning open skinned clothes walks through the desert. For miles on end, there is nothing on sight. She carries a rifle in hand, walking slowly towards her destination. She had left off her cabin and headed towards the far south of Afghanistan, making the jumps as much as she could. After 5 days, she arrived at Galzbug South Africa.

Her only Intel on the place of her destination was that it was located in the middle of the desert. After she arrived, she started to walk. Two days after wandering around aimlessly she found vehicle tracks and was able to pick up a trial. Then using her gifted sight from the parasites, she finally located where her destination is, seeing a black dot admit the daylight desert.

As she closes in, walking towards a hill, pressing one foot to the other akin to climbing. She reaches the top, taking out a bottle of water and pouring over her head. The water soaks her and it feels refreshing, the hot breeze feels cool for a moment. The woman lets out a sigh of relief. For the sun was scorching hot. The journey had been long. "I have arrived Master" The female Sniper Quiets stands at the top of the hill overlooking the central building of Outer Heaven. Her journey was still not over.

"Good my dear, now you know what you must do."

"Right"

Quiet opens her hip pouch and takes three vials of parasites, looking at them she's reminded of the person who gave her the instructions.

A makeshift underground laboratory, deep in a cave. Quiet sits alongside the table with her feet up in it, humming her favorite song. Then the creaking noise of a wheelchair approaches by. Very wrinkled hands, taking out a vial of parasite. A very old face, wrinkled to no end, eyes which lost it's colors and nearly it's irises, the shaky fingers barely holding the vial. It was Code Talker, a decade had passed since he met the female Sniper.

How was he alive, Quiet had asked herself that when she found him again. Or did he find her?

"These are non-language parasites; I used them to scour information back then..."

Quiet looks carefully at the vial and listening to Code Talker explaining. He opens it.

"You open it, and it already releases itself to the air, surrounding you, awaiting orders. Using the parasite within you can either send them wherever you like and bring them back to you as if you were a magnet."

The floating parasite begins to circle the room.

"How do I know I received the information?"

"That's easy dear; these parasites record everything they hear and sometimes what they see if visual stimuli are strong enough. Now..."

Code Talker waves his finger then points it at Quiet, she tilts her head in confusion and before she reacts, the parasite enters inside her

"How can I know...? That's easy dear..."

She hears overlapping voices, circling through her mind. She stands up in surprise and touches her head.

"I know dear, we have all the time for you to get used to it before we proceed." The old man waves his finger again and points it at the sniper. Quiet squeezes her head in preparation.

After she finishes her conversation with Code Talker. She takes out her binoculars and takes in at the sight; she could see the three buildings and the barracks surrounding them. What a legacy Big Boss has built, this must be his dream fulfilled. From the distance, she cannot determine where Big Boss is located. This is what she bought the parasites for; she could not scour the buildings even turning invisible because their thermal cameras could detect her.

"Parasite released…" The parasites descend from the hill and enter each building.

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It was night and the parasites had yet to return. It was a full moon, the hot breeze of the day turned cold and relaxing. Quiet gazes at the full moon, almost in a trance until something strikes her unexpectedly.

"Big Boss is awesome…"

"Huh"

"Bravo 02 you are clear for landing"

"The boss will not tolerate this!"

"Go and clean up!"

The parasites returned bringing over a hundred voices, thousands of spoken lines. It gives her a strong headache. She presses her head and kneels in pain; the voices keep ringing.

"He's on a mission today"

"The prisoner is yet to reveal the true information"

"Press him more!"

"Shh somebody can hear us"

It's like having a wasp nest on her head and she presses against her skull even harder to tone down the voices, then Code Talker speaks to her in Navajo…

"Eve, relax, let it go, and start over. Go, piece by piece, take a deep breath and let go."

"Ahh!" Suddenly the voices get even louder and harder to discern which is which.

"Endure…" Code Talker whispers

She slowly begins to take her hands off her head and relax the shoulders. The voices are still loud but as she finishes releasing the tension off her shoulders, she takes a deep breath and relaxes at his advice. The voices begin to tone down; she begins to analyze the information the parasites have bought her. After many hours that flew by like minutes, the sun rising. Quiet manages to pinpoint Big Boss location. He's to arrive in the afternoon by chopper from a mission he undertook in Northern Africa.

Dusk approaches now, the shadow of a chopper hovers over Quiet and arrives at Outer Heaven. She follows its trail, the wind lifting the sand and the force of her jumps makes a good camouflage. She determined the blind spots on the buildings thanks to the parasite and she climbs in a zigzag fashion. Kicking against the wall to hop herself. The noise of the chopper and the racquet of the guns from the barracks muted the sound of her kicks.

This was her cue; she can make her way down to his room from the roof. The thermal cameras system are almost nonexistent on the upper floors. Parking in the middle building, as it settles down, she waits with her invisibility to see the man she hasn't seen in a long time. Her heart accelerates in anticipation, she takes a deep breath and decide to concentrate and not let the memories of the diamond dogs' days distract her from the mission. The door slides open…

"Take the prisoner to Brigg D" Her chest gets heavy and breathing uneven at hearing that familiar voice…

A soldier steps out holding a man with a bag on his head,

"Welcome to Outer Heaven Doctor," says the soldier.

Big Boss looks back, takes out a cigar, and puffs it. Quiet observes him, wearing his usual green fatigues uniform but dirtied with blood in many parts. Must have been a rough day. She notices his now white hair, but still sporting the ponytail fashion from years ago. Big Boss was no longer a young man, he never was one to begin with, but she now sees the effects of old age on the legendary soldier.

"I'm heading to my quarters; I expect you to work tomorrow doctor…" The way the Boss spoke to him reminded her of Ocelot in that albeit sadistic tone they employ when speaking down on others.

As another soldier opens the door, she quickly makes her way through unnoticed and sneaks into the boss's room. It was just two flights of stairs down the second room to the left. How convenient, have a room close to the stairs. Floor 37B the wall reads. The boss's room is marked with the letters "BB". While Quiet stands beside waiting for the door to be opened, two soldiers step out of the room carrying dirty laundry in a wheeled cart.

The two soldiers, a man wearing blue framed glasses and his name tag "Hideo", his eyes a little bit squinted with a weird expression. He's talking to a much taller muscular man with the name "Bridges" in his name tag, sporting dark glasses and a taciturn smug look. They have a conversation that somehow distracts the sniper from her mission.

"All you have to do is put a sticker on the box, and your like rate will go up!" Hideo exclaims, as if overtly enthusiastic about the idea.

"Why the heck would I put a sticker of a thumbs up in a box?" Bridges answers albeit unenthusiastic about the idea.

"Not thumbs up, a like!"

"What's the difference? It's just a thumbs up…"

"Yes, but a thumbs up of approval. The more approval you get, the better you will feel, and eventually more connected with people, everyone will be inclined to do a better job."

"So, is this the Strand system you have been talking about, you trying to pitch the idea to Big Boss?"

"Yes!"

"Yeah, the strand-like system…"

"Oh forget it, you wouldn't get it..."

"And Big Boss will not listen to your stupid idea, let's finish this."

This is her window of opportunity as the two men wheel the laundry cart out and the door begins to close. She quickly steps into the room and gasps in surprise at what she finds.

It's walls, floors, and ceilings all dark-grey colored lighted with white bulbs. The only thing of luxury she finds was that his glass-walled shower. At least its not the shower box he would bathe himself in now and then in the Diamond Dogs days. His bed was neatly made but it was just a regular mattress for one person.

Gee, this looks like a prison cell Quiet thinks as she crosses her arms. Continuing to observe the room, in the drawers she finds photos scattered of Diamond Dogs days but doesn't find one of hers. She also finds this strange photo where four men are posing, Big Boss, Miller, the Pilot, and a Man who somehow seems familiar to her and at the back of it reads "From Vic Boss". While she wonders about the photo she overhears footsteps and quickly puts it down.

Now it's time to work, she must gather the blood sample. She stands beside the door and as it slides open Big Boss steps in. At the moment it closes he changes his composure, one from the leader of the nation of soldiers to a man simply exhausted from a long day of work. Walking and staining the floor with the dripping blood from his boots.

However, she cannot determine if it's his or from enemies he must have killed or injured today. He looks at the mirror, he turns away as if disgusted at himself. He punches the wall and removes his gloves, his hands smears blood all over the faucet and sink. Rather than wash his hands there, he simply takes his shirt off.

Quiet gasps in surprise when he takes his shirt off, he's sporting a bullet hole on his back close to his shoulders and another in his right forearm. His back is full of blood. When she sees him now bare, Quiet realizes he is still strong as an ox even for his old age. Big Boss uses forceps to remove the bullet from his arm and the one in his back. After finishing treating his wounds, he walks exhausted, as if a zombie, and steps into the shower.

This is her cue to gather the blood sample. She carefully scrapes blood from the sink, filling the vial just enough. Quiet hears the faucet turning on and she turns around, slowly approaching him. As the hot water drips in, releasing steam, he turns back and puts his hands on the crystal as to lean himself from the exhaustion, he exhales in relief as he feels the hot water cleansing his back, the blood dripping down. Even though he has turned old, he hasn't lost one bit of his manliness that makes her so attracted to him.

Seeing him fully naked, she watches him, seeing his sad expression. It's not much different than what he had a decade ago, the burning sensation of revenge. Today is loneliness that creeps over him, Quiet understands what he's feeling now. She could only imagine the horrors he has committed over the years, the endless fighting and bloodshed. She puts her hand on the glass wall, tears leak out as sudden pain emerges from inside her.

Her heart stings, for the man she so admired all those years ago, reduced to this. No happiness, just an endless struggle. She imagines now what it could have been if she remained at his side, helping him on his missions. Even comforting with the warmth of a shared bed. Quiet wonders, would her presence had made a difference if she hadn't been forced into exile because of the parasite?

It's futile now, what's done is done. After Snake finishes showering, he puts on clothes and heads out of the room. Putting his hand on the slide doorknob, Snake stands immobile for a few seconds. He stares at it and goes into a trance for a moment, lost in thought. Quiet cannot figure out what was on his mind; could he know she's there?

Snake shrugs his shoulders, shakes his head snapping himself out of it, and opens the door. He yells medic and heads towards the end of the hallway. Quiet takes the chance of Snake opening the door to slip out and exit out of Outer Heaven via the roof. At the heliport, she overhears a pilot setting course to a place close to Afghanistan. She takes this opportunity and hops on the chopper as it departs. Outer Heaven grows smaller and farther away, Quiet keeps observing, feeling gloom for finding the man she admired in such a state. In her thoughts, she only wishes to see him again and help him somehow.