Author's Note: Dang, no one's been reading my story…Does it really not appeal to that many people? I wish they'd at least give it a try…

Chapter 8: Providence

As the day drew to a close, the blue Sedan pulled into another hotel; this one appearing to be higher class than the one Bonavero had spent the previous night in. Once again being chained to a bed after an exhaustingly long car ride, the rooms were the same way they were before: One for Bonavero and his guard, one for the other two, and a high-class suite for Ms. Forrester.

Bonavero hadn't actually had it as bad as he thought he would've, really all they were doing by handcuffing him to the bed was ensuring that he didn't run away. He hadn't been hit once, despite the rough-looking James Statham-looking guy that was always with him. He still had no idea what awaited him in Chicago, which he hoped they would get to soon so he could find out what was going on. His only contact was undoubtedly worried about him, and he was still half-hoping he would come after him.

But Bonavero knew not to get his hopes up. All he had really done was leave a small writing in the dust at the old facility in Manhattan. The chances that he'd be traced to Chicago were almost zero. But what if he did? What if he put an end to everything?

Otacon, you have to find me.

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Andrea collapsed onto the couch after returning from the first stealth lessons. Lynn hadn't been joking when she said it would be hell--Andrea very much agreed. Andrea had been run through some basic drills that keep the notification of your presence to a minimum, and then Lynn forced her to do it at least a hundred times until it was near satisfactory. Stuff like moving from shadow to shadow, a concept that was used by experts all over the world.

Andrea, who wasn't naturally fit, had been forced through many exercises. Her legs were killing her, as were her arms, her thighs--her whole body hurt. She didn't even want to think about the days' training. All she wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep. She knew the next day there was nothing important to do, so the whole day was going to be dedicated to stealth lessons. She whimpered, but managed to force herself to get up and walk to the bathroom. It was so late that both Snake and Otacon had hit the sack, but Otacon had left the door unlocked for the two girls when they got back. As a precaution, Snake had his SOCOM under his sheet-pillow.

Lynn poured a glass of water from the sink and downed it quickly. She poured a second, and downed that, too. The major blood loss had made her feel incredibly weak and for the first couple of hours of the next day after getting shot she had been very dizzy and light headed. She had thought she would've collapsed, but thankfully her body held up. And now it appeared as though she was regaining some of the vital red stuff. Already she felt herself getting stronger; by the end of the night she was almost able to walk steadily without holding anything for support or waning to the side. The pain in her shoulder where the bullet wound was had almost disappeared.

The guys who were teaching Andrea had told Lynn to sit the session out, to at least take one more day. Lynn sensed it wasn't just a suggestion, so she had complied, not wanting to defy her ex-trainer.

Lynn was suitably impressed with the young medic's learning rate; Lynn thought she would've dropped out in the first class. Usually underestimation wasn't prominent in Lynn's judgment, but apparently Delintoro had more potential than initially thought. Perhaps it was because she was still young and unexposed to real combat, that Lynn had underestimated her. With the proper training, Lynn wondered if the girl would be useful for something other than looking after field operative's well being.

Then again, there were telltale signs that said otherwise. She didn't have any aggressiveness, she always seemed to be so quiet and timid. Those attributes were sure signs that Andrea could be trained properly. The stealth skills she needed to learn maybe, but Lynn doubted she could be turned into a soldier.

Lynn finished her fourth glass of water and went to the couch. Lynn was able to sleep anywhere, even on broken glass. Snake's couch barely had enough room for Lynn and Andrea. Lynn had woken up that morning with the young medic wrapped around her arm and using her shoulder like some sort of pillow. It had been very odd for Lynn, as her life's experiences had caused her to detach from the world. She never had, nor wanted, someone to touch her unless it was their intent to harm her. Alone is the way Lynn had always been, operating on her own volition. The only people she let tell her what to do was her superiors in rank, and when someone made a suggestion that made sense.

And Solid Snake seemed to make a lot of sense. The man was a hardened veteran, Lynn had no doubt about that, and she had come to somewhat respect him and listen to what he had to say. And although this Hal Emmerich guy didn't know anything about combat, he had been the designer for a Metal Gear, so his advice related to that was definitely worth listening to. He didn't seem full of himself, or over-confident. Two things that people charged with the task of intelligence shouldn't have; over-confidence and pride.

Lynn had been on the couch for a few minutes when she noticed the young medic gingerly sit at the other end, and sink in.

The next morning came, and Snake awoke to find the same thing--Andrea wrapped around Lynn's arm. Snake figured he had better wake the small medic before Lynn woke up and noticed, so Snake gave her leg a slight nudge with his foot. She stirred, and opened her eyes.

"S-Snake?" she asked groggily, her soft voice riddled with the tell-tale signs of someone waking up. She then noticed how she was positioned. She backed away, nearly falling off the couch. "S-sorry," Andrea said pink-faced, "I don't know w-why that keeps happening…"

Snake ignored her and went into the kitchen. Yet again, like some sort of sadistic ritual, Snake had opened his eyes at six. He could've sworn his body was trying to line him up to get exactly at six o'clock--this morning it had been 5:58.

Snake had already gotten his nicotine fix for the morning, so he stretched out his old kinked joints. Fighting with giant walking tanks certainly had taken its toll on him over the years.

Snake noticed also that he needed a shave. He'd do that later, once Lynn was off to teach Stealth 101. That's what snake had dubbed it, he needed something to call the 'classes.'

Otacon and Lynn woke up within the next ten or so minutes, and Otacon performed his daily ritual of making coffee. As usual Lynn and Snake didn't want any, but Andrea kindly partook of Otacon's generosity. Everyone, however, accepted a bowl of Raisin Bran. Showers were rushed that morning, as Lynn wanted to get out and have an early start on Stealth 101; the more training the better.

So when Lynn had ushered her to get ready, Andrea smiled weakly and followed Lynn out the door. Snake had checked the time; it was 7:30 when they left. Now, for the first time in a few days, it was going to be completely eventless. Snake then had an idea. He gathered up some clothes and rushed out the door after Lynn and Andrea.

Lynn and Andrea had made it about halfway to the 'studio,' when Snake had shown up beside them. Snake figured he could give some advice. He had told Lynn he had nothing better to do that day, and Lynn had said since stealth missions were his specialty, his expertise would be helpful.

Snake surveyed the gym when the three got there. The gym had been closed down for the entire day just for Andrea's classes. A few of the trainers were there, some more were still due to come. Snake surveyed the lot. Snake suppressed a shiver when he thought that these were the kind of people Lynn had been raised by. No loving mother, just a man teaching another way to kill.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" the owner of the gym asked energetically, looking at Snake.

"I'm with them," he said gruffly, gesturing towards the two girls.

"He'll be aiding you today, as he has extreme knowledge of stealth and invisibility," Lynn answered for Snake.

"I see," the gym owner said. "Well, we're waiting for some more men to arrive, so just sit around and burn off the morning grogginess in the meantime." He turned to Andrea. "And as for you, I would like you to run through the exercises you were taught yesterday as a warm-up." Andrea trotted off to practice what she had learned. One of the trainers supervised.

The rest of the trainers showed up within half an hour, and then the hell really began for Andrea. Snake new that she had much to learn in less than a week, but still…Snake was amazed the poor girl was managing to hang on. Twice in the first two hours she needed water desperately, as she was taught movements, how to tell what's useful for invisible movement, and whatnot.

Occasionally, during he training, Snake would step in and manually show the girl how it was supposed to be done, while other times he just offered advice. Mid-day there was a half-hour break, and Andrea collapsed onto a mat. A lecture was next, giving Andrea a break from the physical training, where she would be told an abbreviated version of the history of using sneaking instead of fighting, how to stay camouflaged, and many other useful tricks.

The lecture was all stuff Snake already knew, but all of it was important for Andrea to learn if they wanted to infiltrate without being noticed.

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Gagarin was enjoying his nap when one of his associates awakened him. He sat up unevenly; his body just refused to stop aching every time he woke up.

"What is it?" Gagarin asked solemnly.

"It's Ocelot," the associate said, and handed over Gagarin's cell phone.

"Ocelot," Gagarin said, sounding more like an acknowledgement than a greeting.

"I didn't mean to wake you, Gagarin," Ocelot said intensely, "But I thought you should know things aren't going as smoothly with the PDA as planned."

"How so?" Gagarin replied.

"There's more encryption to this PDA than initially realized. Our experts are having a field day trying to get past the protection on this thing. It may take a few more days."

"So be it," Gagarin responded, grumpy that he had been woken up for this small news flash. He hung up the cell phone and angrily tossed it to his associate, who fumbled with it before putting it in their pocket.

The plan was, if the PDA had any information on it about where Metal Gear Shadow was being kept, or any information about it, Gagarin would use that to his advantage and storm the facility. But it wasn't for sure that the piece of technology even had it's whereabouts on it. Lots of protection, yes, but it may have been a diversion to direct their attention from something else. Perhaps he would send some of his men to investigate the Manhattan Weapons Lab further and more closely than before…

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By the end of the day, Andrea had exhausted herself so much she couldn't move. She knew it wasn't good for her health, but she had sworn she wouldn't give up.

Andrea whimpered silently as Lynn picked her up off of the floor. Because Lynn was still fairly weak, she was forced to drape her over her shoulder. The three left the gym, Lynn carrying a sweaty and strained Andrea, who had passed out. Snake followed behind, amazed that the girl had managed to survive the day's teachings. For such a small girl, she certainly was a real firecracker.

When Snake, Andrea, and Lynn arrived back at the apartment, Otacon was busy making a rather large vat of mac n' cheese. Bowls were served out to everyone, except Andrea who was laid out on the couch.

"Please tell me you've had macaroni and cheese before," Snake said, eyeing Lynn, who seemed to be inspecting the yellow noodles. She stayed silent and started eating.

"So tomorrow," Otacon said, who was eating at the computer desk, "you're going shopping for weapons?"

Snake turned to Lynn.

"The way thing's will work is Snake will come with me to see Sergeant O'Brian and give him a list of everything he'll need," Lynn said. "All items in question will be delivered to a storage facility, and we will be given the keys. It'll be a 24 hours place, so we should be able to get prepared and leave from that locale."

"What are we going to do for transportation?" Snake asked. "We can't just walk from there to the weapon's facility wearing our combat uniforms."

"I can have Sergeant O'Brian arrange for that as well," Lynn answered. "He used to do all sorts of things for my father when we went on training missions."

The rest of the night passed by with not much else to do. Otacon had put on an anime movie, while Lynn did some exercises and Snake inspected his SOCOM. Andrea, when she had finally woken up, had stumbled over to the computer to watch whatever Japanimation it was that Otacon was watching. Otacon was glad that there was someone who finally shared his appreciation for it; Snake always frowned upon it.

After that, after everyone had taken a shower, it was time to sleep again. Lynn said stiffly in her spot on the couch asleep, Snake grunted over on the floor, Otacon was in his bed, and Andrea slowly drifted over to Lynn as the night progressed.

And, as the next morning approached, as usual, Snake seemed to come to consciousness at six o'clock on the second. So, he got up and went to take his shower early. He didn't even think to wake up Andrea; he had failed to notice that once again she was sleeping in a compromising position. This time, though, as Lynn was sleeping in a sitting position, somehow Andrea had managed to end up sprawled across Lynn's lap.

Luckily, though, it had been Andrea to wake up first, and she had her normal embarrassed reaction as she stumbled back and fell of the couch. She winced from the pain that then spread throughout her body from the previous day's rigorous exercises. She struggled to get up, and sat back down on the couch; though mentally trying to stay as close to the end as possible.

Otacon soon woke up after that, and came groggily out into the living room, turning on the computer monitor.

"I have to work today," Otacon said, passing by Snake as he came out of the shower. "I'll be back later tonight. Let me know how things go today." Otacon left.

Lynn was the last to wake up, her eyes just all of a sudden opening up. Andrea meandered over to the kitchen area and poured three bowls of cereal, which was now almost gone. She handed one to Snake, one to Lynn, and of course kept the last one.

"When do you want to go to see this 'O'Brian' guy?" Snake asked gruffly after a mouthful of Raisin Bran.

"Preferably soon," Lynn replied. "I want to continue with Andrea's training today as well." Andrea gave an inaudible whimper.

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Yet another day of being stuck in the blue Sedan, Bonavero was told that by the end of the day they should be in Chicago. There, Bonavero was certain whatever awaited him lay. So as the long and boring ride continued, Bonavero couldn't help but wonder what Otacon had been doing for the past few days. Surely he would've traced some sort of lead back to the Manhattan weapons facility, or at least he hoped. There, Bonavero hoped that the message he had written in the dust in the unused office still stayed, untouched by the building's many occupants.

Ms. Forrester still refused to tell Bonavero exactly why they were going to Chicago, but he suspected it had something to do with the deal that went down in the restaurant that one day. Bonavero hadn't heard anything about what occurred; they had simply come back, and left for Chicago.

Which put Bonavero where he was now.

"Ma'am, we'll be there by early evening, depending on traffic," Adam spoke over the noise of the engine.

"We're making good time, thanks to your excellent driving," Ms. Forrester replied coolly.

Adam pulled into yet another restaurant, and went inside to gather food for them all. Truth be told, Bonavero had been fed well, though most of the time he wasn't hungry. Despite being slightly chubby, it was because of his low digestion rate that caused the excess girth. A bag of Styrofoam containers was dropped into Bonavero's lap, as was one into Ms. Forrester's and the two men beside Bonavero.

Adam started up the car, and they continued on their journey.

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Yuri and Czechov, two Russian men in their early thirties, checked out of their hotel that morning so that they could make the last bit of travel needed to get to Manhattan. When Gagarin had phoned them up for a job, they had appreciatively accepted. Now, as the two blonde brothers exited the hotel, they piled into the car Gagarin had loaned them.

"Where do we start to look?" Czechov asked his brother, his voice thick with a Russian accent.

"I don't fucking know," the other brother replied. "Boss didn't give us location, only said that they were hanging around in Manhattan, near where deal went down." Yuri looked at his brother. "Brother, don't worry, Boss knows it take few days to find targets."

"I do not want failure," Czechov said to his brother.

"Boss ask us to do job, we do job," Yuri replied simply as he started up the car. "It simple, yes?"

"Kill two little girls and Solid Snake", Czechov recited.

"Exactly. Two little girls sound easy, but Snake is problem. We need plan." The car started to drive away. "Problem, but easy."

Author's Note: Uh oh! Gagarin's killers are on the hunt for Lynn, Snake, and Andrea! Stay tuned for the next chapter!