The Road to Outer Heaven
Chapter 8: Infiltration
By, Frank Hunter

The mission from there on out, much to Gray Fox's delight, was carried out efficiently and effectively. The guard up in the watch tower was neutralized by a single pistol shot; Snake was more than capable of aiming a firearm, even at long range, and Fox valued that skill. Sticking to the shadows, the two made it to the door which opened into the bunker, and managed to get it opened with only a knock. It seemed this unit was not expecting visitors tonight.

Fox "handled" that particular individual, ruthlessly as always it seemed, and gained the two access to the inside of the complex. They worked in tandem looking for the black bandannas, and it was here that Snake's true colors shone through. Specialty in urban infiltration…

Fox could see it. The young man moved fluidly down corridors and around corners, finding cover in unusual places, even once hiding himself in a locker. He showed a great deal of innovation and adaptation on the battlefield, impressing Fox once by hiding the corpse of another unfortunate individual who needed to be "handled" under a cardboard box. "Boxes," he told his mentor, "have a million and one uses." Gray Fox laughed the comment off, but was most amused by the fact that Snake didn't seem to be joking about it.

The hunt went on for almost two hours on that floor before the men found an elevator. Their suspicions were correct, and the majority of the base was, in fact, underground. But, while preparing to summon the elevator to their floor, it came on its own, forcing a short retreat down the hallway and behind a crate. Stepping off was a soldier with one of those unmistakable black bandannas around his arm. Paydirt. Fox pointed at him and then at his own eyes, marking the man as their target, and they watched his next move.

Mark was about to take a walk down the very corridor that the infiltrators concealed themselves in, which would have perhaps forced the pair into quick action, but he took notice of a small lavatory off to the side of the elevator. Apparently thinking about it for a moment, Mark hoisted up his belt and made for the bathroom. Fox grinned a wide grin, and after a short wait, indicated that Snake should follow him into the bathroom as well.

The room was empty, save for Mark who had apparently decided to take up a stall. By the time the two men had passed through the bathroom door, they could already hear the unwitting soldier tearing sheets of toilet paper off the roll. There wasn't much time. Fox turned the sink on to create a sound mask, and to relieve any suspicion in Mark's mind about what whomever opened the door was doing in the bathroom. He then moved and slid the deadbolt on the door to the locked position, and signed to Snake to retrieve their target and bring him out onto the floor. Snake nodded, and quietly positioned himself outside the closed bathroom stall. He braced himself.

The toilet flushed, and Snake kicked the door in, which slammed Mark on his back and sprawled him across the toilet, forcing the target to let out a small "Oof." Snake quickly worked an arm around his neck and pulled him out of the stall. The soldier began a vocal protest, but the butt of Snake's Z88 connected with the side of his head. "Shut up," Snake growled to him, and Mark obeyed, as the soldier dragged him out into the middle of the bathroom floor and turned him to face Gray Fox, who was holding his combat knife lazily at his side.

"If you struggle against him," Fox told the hostage, "I'm going to stab you in the heart. Do you understand?" Mark nodded, as slightly as he could, considering Snake's grip around his neck.

"And," Fox added, "if you try at all to lash out at me, he's going to break your neck. Is that understood?" The man again indicated an understanding.

"Then you're going to talk to us now. An item was stolen recently, an item of great value to its owner. It has turned up on this base. Do you know what it is?"

Mark stammered out a two word answer. "M…M…Metal G…Gear."

Fox's eyes narrowed in uncertainty. Snake spoke up. "It's a dossier we want."

"Y…yeah, the plans for M…Metal Gear. They're downstairs with the p…prototype."

"Prototype?" Fox asked him.

"The commander started building it when the plans came in. Headquarters wants it done fast."

"And where can we find it?" Fox asked again.

"Downstairs like I said! In the underground hangar on B2. Please let me go."

Snake tightened his grip on the man's neck. "Stop squirming."

"In a minute," Fox assured him, and Snake was certain it wasn't truthful. "Who is this commander?"

"C…Commander Steele? He's in charge of the base, and production on the prototype. That's all!"

"Who's the woman with him?" Snake queried into his ear.

"That's Suhn! She's his bodyguard," Mark wheezed out. Then as an afterthought, "They're both downstairs too. Please let me go!"

"One more question," Fox told him, and pointed his knife at the black armband. The man cringed back a little bit. "Where is the rest of your detachment?"

"On B1, waiting for Commander Steele to come back! No one's allowed to be down there with him when he's got the plans out of lockdown."

Fox smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Please!" Mark pleaded him. "Please, please, you promised!"

"Don't worry," Fox told him. "We're not going to kill you." He nodded to Snake.

Snake was genuinely taken back by this act of…well, he guessed it was kindness although it still was not particularly kind. He cracked the Z88 against Mark's temple again, harder this time, putting the man out cold, and dragged him back into the bathroom stall, locking the door and crawling out underneath.

"Why the generosity?" he asked his teacher.

"Because a bathroom is a very conspicuous place to leave a corpse," Fox told him. "His comrades find him passed out on the can, they may just laugh at him. They find him dead on the can, and an alarm is immediately sounded. You need to work the situation. Besides, at this point we'll probably be out of here before he wakes up."

It had nothing to do with the man's cooperation. It was just what was more convenient for Fox at the time. Ruthless, Snake reminded himself. He should not have been surprised.

"To B2?" he asked, and Fox nodded, sheathing his knife once more. "Let's finish up."

They unlocked the bathroom door and made it across to the elevator without hassle. The car was still resting on their floor. Stepping inside they pressed the button for B2, for the underground hangar, and for their objective.