The Road to Outer Heaven
Chapter 6: The Eyes of a Fox
By, Frank Hunter

The HALO jump had gone off without a hitch. No one had seen them and it was a straight run to the bunker from the LZ. Though both men had maps in their packs, Gray Fox didn't bother to check. The sun had now completely set and darkness overtaken the jungle, but his sense of direction was still impeccable and the two would be at their destination in no time.

Fox didn't have to spare a glance behind him to know that Snake was having trouble keeping up. His breathing was irregular and the sounds of his footsteps were becoming slightly more distant. But, he refused to slow his pace.

The rookie needs to learn to keep up, he thought. You can't slow down a war, there's no reason to slow this.

So far, Fox was, as usual, unimpressed. Solid Snake was insubordinate, he had almost taken himself out on the jump, and now he was proving incapable of keeping up on what really would amount to be a short run. Even if this sort of performance was Green Beret caliber, which Fox seriously doubted, it would not fly in FOX-HOUND.

But Big Boss saw something in him. Something earned him that code name.

The boss had never seen fit to use the snake title before, and there had been several candidates that had seemed to genuinely impress him. Fox couldn't say the same, though some probably were more qualified than this Solid Snake. Men had come and gone through FOX-HOUND, but skill alone would not be enough to earn that title.

But that's the thing, he mulled, as Snake almost ran into a branch. He still didn't lose a step. The boss worked for years with his own son, and still didn't pass on that title.

Fox remembered the boy. Fair skin, blue eyes, long blonde hair he usually kept in a ponytail. Almost Aryan. He was physically built too, and reliable to boot. Fox had never worked with the kid of course, but he'd seen how he functioned in combat, with the boss and on his own. He really was a remarkable soldier, and in fact reminded Fox of himself when he was younger.

Though Big Boss had had several opportunities to bring his son into FOX-HOUND he had never actually done it. He was hard on the boy, almost as if nothing he did was good enough. In fact, the boss had always maintained a sense of hopelessness with him. It was like he would never be good enough…

All things considered, Fox didn't blame the kid for running off to fight the war in Iraq. Constant disappointment is not something anyone would want to deal with. But, that was one thing he'd never understood about Big Boss. Why would he treat his own son so harshly? His own son who was an exceptional warrior. And now, to pass on this title that the boy had all but earned to this complete stranger.

Fox stopped running. Taking a glance back at the soldier who was trying to catch his breath, he just became more puzzled. His face…

Unexceptional as he was, there was definitely something familiar about Solid Snake, and he may have just pinned it down.

His face looks just like the boss's son. The resemblance was uncanny and Fox couldn't believe it hadn't come to him before. It's because he hadn't seen the kid in years. In fact, he would probably be about Snake's age also.

The face aside though, the two were almost completely different people. Snake sported short, black hair and brown eyes. Though he was also built, military training would do that to anyone, and his skills were not nearly as developed.

Still there is something strange here. There really is more going on than it would at first seem.

"Why are we stopping?" Snake asked between breaths.

"Patrols up ahead. We slow down, and slip past."

I'll have to talk to the boss about this when we get back. Fox knew this was not the time to be distracted. Faults or not, Solid Snake was his partner right now. He would work with what he had.

The two got down low, and stuck to the trees.