Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Metal Gear character or the Metal Gear franchise. They belong to Hideo Kojima, Yoji Shinkawa, Kojima Productions and Konami studios.
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Author Notes: Kind greetings to you all. Here's the newest chapter of this fic; it was written about two months ago, but it took me this long to post it because I had to rewrite some things, as well as fit in new plotlines better to make future updates easier to read and also more engaging.
I've come to the conclusion that this fic will be a bit longer than I had originally planned. My former plan was to make ten episodes, some of them divided in two chapters each, but since I'm still halfway on the first episode with another update coming, it will have to change somewhat. I'm thinking it will take me about fifteen to twenty chapters to finish this... which already feels quite daunting. But since I've already finished writing three more chapters after this one and planned all the the others, I'm confident I'll see this through, so long as you like it.
Many thanks for all your support! It's very encouraging to have such great readers as you guys. As usual, hope you like this chapter, and don't forget to review.
Devil Boss
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Metal Gear Solid - The Philanthropists
Episode 2: Suicide Mission, Part I
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The bus' engine rumbled and the vehicle got away, trying hard to find some room in the cramped streets. Nastasha Romanenko looked around, trying to get a hold of her surroundings. New York City was as noisy as she remembered it. Thousands upon thousands of people going about their daily business, sharing a common space but remaining perfect strangers made for a strange mood. The sheer thought of how many people walked these streets was enough to humble Nastasha, a native of a small town in Ukraine. But she couldn't help being glad about New York's overpopulation right now; it provided the best cover she could wish for.
Dressed in a dark hoodie, white sneakers and tight leggings, Nastasha felt far removed from her usually polished and quite imposing presence. Cheap shades hastily bought helped to better conceal her face. The disguise wasn't flattering at all on her, but Nastasha prided herself in being a resourceful person. She was above such vanity.
Nastasha hardened her resolve and willed herself to get in motion. She was a target now, just like Jim Houseman and Naomi Hunter - and Richard Ames? - had been, and time was scarce for someone in her position. She needed to find a place to stay, a place where she wouldn't stand out, and then...
Nastasha knew all too well what she had to do next. She would go to a publishing house and attempt to get her book released to the public. It was a suicide quest and she knew it... but Nastasha was tired of being a bystander while important things happened. Many people had died because of the government's lunacy and she would not stand for it.
The afternoon wore on while she searched for a good place to settle for the brief time she was planning to be in New York. She had found a nice, small hotel by dusk. Next day, the action would begin.
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X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Suicide Mission, Part I
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Suicide Mission, Part I
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The base was located in a wide valley, bordered to the south and west by rocky slopes, and by a taller hill on the eastern side, with its northern side looking at a expansive plain that was hard to see in the rainy night. Bordered by a twelve-foot fence on all sides, and kept under close scrutiny by several tall watchtowers, the one-mile-wide base was well guarded. A closer look with Snake's binoculars showed the compound to be bristling with activity, even in such an unforgiving night. There were trucks coming in through a highly guarded gate at the northern side, and many men inside the base were unloading their cargo near a set of large buildings in the center of the complex. Overall, this wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
"Do you read me, Snake?" Otacon's voice came through the codec after the device made a low whistle only Snake could hear.
"Yeah, I read you," Snake said, pressing a finger to his ear to listen better "I'm just outside the compound. Security is quite tight, getting in there isn't going to be easy."
"Ehem..." Otacon seemed unsure of what to say to that "Well, I guess that proves our suspicions right, doesn't it? Only a Metal Gear would be so well protected."
"You could be right," Snake mumbled.
"Let's go through the operation's objectives one more time," Otacon's voice cracked through the codec. Snake could easily picture him pushing up his glasses as he said the words "You'll have to infiltrate that base and find out where Metal Gear is. Once you find it, you'll have to take pictures of it, and if you can, try to sabotage it; okay?"
"Find Metal Gear, sabotage it," Snake echoed "So long as I can find some explosives to do that. And by the way, you didn't manage to hack anything regarding where Metal Gear is, did you? That base is quite large... finding REX unaided will be tough."
"Sorry, I can't help you with that," Otacon said meekly. Snake grunted to himself "But maybe you could try to interrogate an enemy soldier to get REX's location?"
"Maybe."
"Either way, infiltrate the base and try to get to a control room. There might be blueprints of the base in there, which you can upload to your radar so that you won't get lost. Then, find Metal Gear REX, do your thing, and get out of there fast. You probably don't need me to say that should you get spotted, we'll both be executed for this."
"I got that. It shouldn't take long. In and out in under twenty minutes, home in time for dinner."
"...Really?" Otacon had to ask after some hesitation. After witnessing his partner's exploits in Shadow Moses, he wasn't entirely sure of what Snake's limits truly were.
"Just kidding, Otacon."
"...Oh. Oh," the geek said dumbly "Okay, then. Head into the compound and find where Metal Gear is. If you need me, my frequency is 141.12."
Snake took his hand off his ear and double-checked his gear. The Beretta M9 made up for a safe weight in his hands; Snake had customized it as well as he could, amplifying the gun's maximum accurate range by another thirty feet and reducing recoil to a minimum, as well as equipping it with a laser sight on the bottom and adding a suppressor. Aside from the pistol, all he was carrying was a set of high-tech binoculars, a small and somewhat primitive version of the Soliton Radar he had used in Shadow Moses, and a small camera.
Slowly, carefully at first, Snake started to descend from the western slopes, careful not to trip on the slippery ground, since his boots didn't give him any added grip like the ones of his sneaking suit did. He became more mindful not to attract any attention as he got closer to the fences; there were two watchtowers nearby, one of them inside the perimeter, watching the closest buildings, and another just outside the fences, keeping close tabs on all terrain surrounding the southwest of the compound, precisely where Snake was coming from.
'A lone tower, outside the base's perimeter, guarded by one or maybe two soldiers at best...' Snake thought 'easy to take them out with a sniper rifle, but then their deaths would alert others of intruders. That's a cold tactic; these men are all expendable in their superiors' minds.'
There were large rocks in the slope, some of them big enough to hide behind, some others barely good enough to crouch behind, but it was all Snake would need for now. On top of each watchtower, there was a potent searchlight that constantly swept the fields below. Snake was well used to such measures, and therefore he knew that while anything within the light would be discovered instantly, all that was left outside of it would be nearly invisible due to the powerful contrast between light and dark.
Snake made his move as soon as the searchlight slid away. Running with his back bent forward, he crouched next to a rock and remained perfectly still when the light focused on where he was. But he was invisible to the guard on the tower. As soon as he the light went away yet again, he moved forward, to the bottom of the tower, right beneath the guard above, who never thought of looking that close to his own position.
It would be particularly easy to kill him. Just take a step back, aim and pull the trigger, and he would be one less problem for Snake to deal with. Every muscle and nerve in his body seemed to be itching to do it, to just move, exhale, and pull the trigger.
Taking a deep breath, Snake gripped his handgun tighter and moved on, leaving the watchtower behind. Luckily for both of them, the guard didn't turn around as the former mercenary made his way closer to the fence behind the watchtower.
Snake was quick to find a small gap in the fence; it was bound to happen in a complex as large as this. The hole was small, just a spot where the fence didn't properly meet the ground, but it would be enough for the lean spy to crawl through. Snake did just that, mindful of the watchtower inside the base. But his area wasn't being watched right now. By the time the searchlight swept the fence, Snake was already inside.
"This is Snake," he reported on the codec while hiding behind some crates as some guards walked by "I'm inside the compound."
"Excellent, Snake," Otacon replied, happy and baffled at the same time. No more than two minutes had passed since their last talk, and already Snake had infiltrated the place "Can you see any clues regarding where Metal Gear is?"
"No," Snake replied "I'm making my way deeper into the base right now, but there's no sign of REX. I might have to interrogate someone to find out its location, like you said earlier."
"Look, I'm sure REX is in there; the sheer size of this compound proves it. I doubt that any random grunt will know about Metal Gear, though; this is a highly classified project, after all."
"You may be right," Snake shook his head. Thinking fast as a truck came into view, the commando hid next to a stall and waited for it to pass by "I'll have to find a control room. There's a tower nearby; I wouldn't be surprised if it is the base's surveillance outpost."
"Oh, okay," Otacon agreed after a brief pause "Then make your way there and try to hack into a computer."
"Already on it."
Moving past a group of guards that never heard him, Snake reached the tower he had seen earlier. It was more than sixty feet tall, with clear-colored walls and a fair share of windows. Stationed at ground level, a team of six men guarded the entrance to the tower; taking a close look with his binoculars, Snake spotted MP5 submachine guns, HK45 handguns, Tactical Knives and body armor.
'A heavily armed unit,' Snake thought carefully 'Better to try a different way in.'
There was a small auxiliary ladder on the tower's southern flank, that went all the way up to the roof. Being outside, the ladder was exposed to prying eyes, but Snake thought the risk was acceptable given the harsh rain that dimmed visibility so much; should he keep to the shadows, he might just make it to the top unseen. And Snake did just that: the steps were slippery, but he still made zero noise as he climbed up, careful not to remain on well-lit spots for too long, and always mindful of the tower's windows and any people inside who might be staring out into the stormy night.
Snake reached the top floor without raising the alarms. There was a door that led inside, but it was closed and Snake could see it was heavily armored. Peeking inside through a small window, Snake saw a control room and two armed men idling in chairs. Getting back to the door, the spy noticed that it had no handles, nor any other way to open it. It was designed to be opened from inside. Resigned to deal with that complication, Snake decided to try an age-old trick.
He knocked heavily, insistently, on the door. A moment passed, and Snake knocked again.
"Okay, just a second!" an irritated voice said from inside.
Snake snorted. These goons wouldn't have lasted five minutes in the Cold War.
The door opened and a man came outside, looking for whoever had knocked. Snake didn't give him time to react and grabbed him in a chokehold that left his gun hand free.
"Not. ." he hissed next to the man's ear, tightening the hold on his neck. Terrified, the guard moaned in agreement.
Snake rushed inside, using his enemy as a human shield. The other soldier inside the control room gasped and jumped to his feet, raising his gun.
"Freeze!" Snake shouted, already aware it was to no use. The soldier aimed and shot at him, and Snake used his human shield to save his own life. He shot back with the M9, nailing his enemy in the heart.
Dropping the now dead man in his arms, Snake checked out the room. There were tables with files on them, many computers and plenty of monitors in the walls, showing different parts of the complex. But he had no time to spare; going to the nearest computer, Snake searched the system for the base's blueprints.
'Bingo,' he nodded to himself. The control tower had full access to the entire base's camera feed. The screen displayed a number of windows, all of them showing different parts of the complex. And in one of those windows, titled 'Level B9 - Main Building' a metallic beast was being built.
Downloading a map of the compound was easy enough. His Soliton radar, a small gadget the size of a cell phone, now showed him the map and where he was. And while REX was on the underground levels of the main building, which was farther east, Snake was pleased to see that there was an elevator inside the control tower that led to some subterranean passages connected to the hangar where the Gear was being built.
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"Okay Snake, that's great," Otacon replied to the spy's report "Then take the elevator to the underground corridors and make your way to Metal Gear."
He cut the call and checked his laptop. So far, there had been no alarms at the PMC camp where they had infiltrated the country. And everything seemed calm here. 'So far, so good,' Otacon allowed himself an encouraging smile.
A vehicle sped past him in the road above, the sound of its engine muffled by the rain. Otacon hugged himself and wished this would be over soon.
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Marcus Cerny had been on guard duty for almost eight hours, and he was sick of it. His attention span wasn't big enough to tirelessly allow him to guard an underground hallway where literally nothing happened. Like many others, Marcus was a mercenary hired to guard the base. It meant easy money, protecting the bowels of a secret base insanely defended on all fronts, and he was glad he had taken the job. However, right now he wished he hadn't. He knew he would change his mind when he got his paycheck, but enduring the long shifts was dull, and worse, oppressive. How he wished for some fresh air right now!
The elevator at the far end of the hallway came and its doors opened with a click. It was the third time that happened in eight hours, and therefore it warranted Marcus' full attention. He stood straight and grabbed his rifle properly, ready to salute whoever came out. But no one did.
Confused, Marcus approached the lift. Not only had no one came out, but the elevator itself seemed empty. Marcus hummed, perplexed. Maybe the thing was malfunctioning? He went inside to check it out.
A lean figure dislodged itself from the lift's ceiling and knocked Marcus out before he realized what was happening.
Solid Snake took the body out of the elevator - it wouldn't be good if someone called the lift and found an unconscious body inside - and checked his surroundings. He was in a corridor, silent and eerie.
There was no one in the hallway, and the bowels of the base were gloomy and dark. Snake made his way forward, careful to keep his steps silent. He didn't do particularly bad, which was quite good considering it had been seven months since the last time. Following the mark on his radar, Snake made a left turn as soon as he could, checking the place from a corner first.
There was a surveillance camera about ten feet above the ground, watching the corridor. The camera scanned both to its right and left, keeping close watch on the hallway it was guarding. Snake smiled. He was used to such security measures. All it took to bypass them was proper timing.
He made a dash forward as soon as the camera turned to look away. Being trained at ninjitsu, Snake managed to make very little noise while running, although his boots made the act somewhat more complicated. The camera turned to look at Snake's side again, but the spy had managed to get right beneath it in the nick of time. Safely hidden in the camera's blind spot, Snake let it sweep the hallway again, waiting for the precise moment to act. Now the camera turned to look to where Snake had originally been. The warrior didn't think twice; he ran away, swiftly making his way through the corridor and taking cover behind a set of lockers he had spotted earlier. No alarms were triggered, which meant he had succeeded. Not bad, indeed.
Scanning his surroundings, Snake smiled slightly as he spotted a small door with a sign in it that read 'Storage Room.' Said room was in another hallway - the base was built like a maze, it seemed; he would have been lost without his radar - guarded by a single soldier armed with an AK47 and with a Colt M1911 strapped to his thigh.
Grabbing a better hold of his Beretta, Snake peeked from cover and aimed at the man's head. The guard was completely unaware of the danger he was in. The sights already aligned, Snake could have easily killed him anytime he wanted. His finger was itching to pull the trigger. But, perhaps... perhaps he could go on without disposing of the sentry. A cold doubt entered his mind, making him hesitate for the barest of instants, and Snake had to take cover behind the corner yet again.
What the hell had been that? He hadn't hesitated to pull a gun's trigger to kill someone ever since he was fourteen years old. Not a single time had he allowed himself to doubt his actions; men like him were well aware that a second's hesitation meant losing one's head, literally. He certainly didn't have any problems when he took out the sentry outside. So why would he have second thoughts now? But as he looked at the enemy guard again, he realized that he truly didn't need to kill this man. Maybe, just maybe, he could try to go on his way without murdering another man; it would certainly be one less thing to worry about when he had nightmares at night.
Moving across the corridor hoping that the guard wouldn't turn his head was one of the tensest moves Snake had done in quite a while. But he got inside the storage room undetected, and the man outside was still breathing.
Sighing in relief, Snake took in the room he had entered. It was quite small, with shelves filled with boxes and some spare weapons. Good.
"Hey, Snake, what are you doing?" Otacon's voice came through the codec "The radars says you've stopped there. Something wrong?"
"Just stocking up on some items and weapons, Otacon," Snake replied, grabbing four more magazines for his Beretta, as well as a flashbang grenade "You never know when you'll get the chance to do it again. Besides, these things may come in handy when it's time to complete the mission," that bit was certainly true, he thought, as he grabbed three C4 charges and strapped them to his second belt. Unfortunately, he had no more room to carry anything else, as a result of his less-than-ideal sneaking suit.
"Have you always done this in your missions?" Otacon asked, intrigued.
"Back at FOXHOUND, my old unit, they called me an expert procurer-on-site. I didn't bring any weapons or gear into my missions that could be traced back to my superiors or my country. I was a nonexistent operative of a nonexistent unit."
"It must have been hard, living like that," Otacon said thoughtfully.
"It was all I knew," Snake replied, quickly crossing back the hallway before the guard watching it turned to look his way. Slowly but surely he made his way deeper into the underground levels of the base.
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X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Suicide Mission, Part I
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Suicide Mission, Part I
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The door opened with a hiss, and Solid Snake was allowed inside. Next to him lay the body of a guard, knocked unconscious and carefully tied up. Stepping cautiously, Snake got inside the very heart of the fortress. It was a huge warehouse, tall and wide, tightly patrolled by armed soldiers and filled with scientists working fervently. Taking a few careful steps forward, Snake found himself in a small catwalk overseeing the hangar. But he only had eyes for one thing.
"Metal Gear..." it was all he could utter at the moment.
Therein was Metal Gear REX, a variant of the nightmarish machine he had to face seven months ago. Snake couldn't shake a sense of deja vu as he stared upon the beast, now tamed in the bowels of the base, still being built, but deadly already and soon to be unleashed upon the world. But this REX was different from the one he was familiar with, the one that still roared strong when he slept at night; this Metal Gear was somewhat smaller, not in height but in width, and it looked a tad thinner than the original prototype. The head and jaws, that formed the cockpit, were also narrower and pointier, and many wires were exposed still since the REX's armor wasn't finished yet. But even though this model was lesser than its older brother that lay back at Shadow Moses, it was still a monster that Snake would do well not to underestimate.
"Is REX there?" Otacon's voice inquired nervously from the codec.
"I wish you were here to see this, kid," Snake mused, appraising the weapon "The men down here definitely didn't have a clear look at the blueprints, but they're doing a good job on their own... this Metal Gear may not be as advanced as REX was in Shadow Moses, but I'd rather stay out of its way, if I have the chance."
"You have a clear view of it? That's great, Snake. Take pictures with the camera, and get out of there fast!" Otacon said, relieved.
"Otacon," Snake said curtly "I didn't infiltrate this base just to take some pictures. I'm already here, and I have some C4; I'm not going to let this opportunity pass by. We might not get a chance like this again."
"-But..."
"We're already in this, Otacon," Snake grunted "There's no room for hesitation any longer. If you're getting second thoughts about it, I'll do it alone."
There was a brief silence.
"How do you plan to do it?" Hal asked at last, his voice tinted with shaky nervousness but overall steady.
Snake smiled "I thought that the world's leading expert on Metal Gear might be able to give me some tips."
"Well, if that Gear is anything like REX, then it should have the same weak spots... can you describe it to me?"
"It looks like a thinner REX," Snake said simply, crouching low when a guard looked his way from beneath "But it's just as tall. Also, its jaws are smaller, and it has the same radome the original did." He stopped for a moment "Hmm... the railgun looks strange. It seems a bit smaller than REX's."
"Huh? That's weird. The railgun is arguably the most important component. It was a joint venture between Arms Tech and Livermore National Labs, the best of the weapons community. I doubt these guys have managed to improve that kind of technology..."
"Maybe Ocelot didn't share all the blueprints."
"Well, anyway, if it does have the radome and the cockpit, then it probably works the same way REX did," Otacon said "Which means, it uses the radome as a sensor, its own eyes and ears, as well as its radar and provider of real-time battle information. If you take it out, then the Gear will be blind."
"Which means, that the pilot will have to expose the cockpit and pilot manually," Snake nodded, remembering well how he had to fight against his brother when he piloted the war machine.
"Exactly," Otacon confirmed "And the cockpit itself is the most vulnerable place of all, since it's innerly wired to the rest of the Metal Gear. From the outside, destroying those inner wires and systems is impossible, but from the cockpit..."
"A well placed explosive should do the trick."
"That's right," Otacon grinned "Snake, this Gear's not finished yet, so you don't need to destroy the radome for the cockpit to open. That said, if you do destroy the radome, it will send their project back a whole two months, if not longer. But the real issue here is the cockpit. Place a charge inside, and this Gear will never see the light of day."
"Got it."
Otacon felt a sense of unreality, of detachment, as he saw his partner infiltrate the heart of the enemy fortress in his quest to destroy Metal Gear. This whole experience felt so... surreal, as if it was all part of a big dream he'd wake up from any instant from now. The thought of him, Hal Emmerich, a geeky scientist whose very career had been influenced by his love of anime, now cooperating with a legendary warrior to destroy giant war machines... it was laughable at best. But alas, here he was.
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It was damned hard to move silently in the metallic catwalk. Snake almost tripped twice, still unused to his new boots and somewhat rusty after months of inactivity. Metal Gear REX was in the center of the hangar, and the place was tightly guarded. Luckily for him, though, there were plenty of hiding spots he could use to remain undetected. The scientists had set up a lot of computers around the place, and there was a good number of containers as well, probably loaded with parts of the still unfinished REX. And there were quite a few maintenance catwalks and ladders at the sides and crossing the hangar, seemingly to allow easy access to the higher parts of the massive behemoth. That would come in handy for him, Snake thought.
There was a ladder nearby that led up to a catwalk on par with REX's head. Problem was, a sentry was standing a few feet away from it, and climbing undetected would be impossible so long as he remained there. Snake hid next to a container, holding his breath as two scientists walked by right next to him, not seeing him more due to a miracle than the spy's skill. Exhaling softly to relax, Snake decided to use an old trick, effective in its simplicity, and knocked on the container with his knuckles.
"What was that?" the guard next to the ladder asked "Someone there?" He received no reply. A moment later, there was a second set of three knocks on the metallic container. Startled, the guard shouldered his AK 47 and approached carefully. The knocks had come from the other side of the container; he made a wide arc, walking sideways, careful to avoid anyone taking him by surprise, and he finally reached the far side of the large crate.
There was no one there. Confused, the soldier looked around, found nothing else, and shrugged.
"Must have been a scientist, maybe..." he said, getting back to his earlier position. More than forty feet above him, Snake reached the end of the ladder and climbed onto the catwalk.
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The dot that represented Snake in the radar was dim, and kept flickering. Otacon knew that wasn't due to a malfunction in his equipment, but rather the fact that the signal wasn't strong enough to properly pierce all the layers of concrete and iron that made up the secret base. This was it. The moment they had been waiting for. Otacon could feel his pulse, quick and frantic. His chest seemed to tickle a bit due to the tension.
And then he heard the voices.
All the hairs on his arms stood and his gut seemed to become a pit of darkness. A chill went through his back, and his stomach turned to knots. His chest started to heave as his body started to tremble, truly shake as if it were made of jelly. Otacon was terrified beyond measure. There was a spare gun in the truck, that Snake had left just in case, but Otacon dared not grab it. He didn't know how to use it, and besides, he knew himself incapable of shooting a human being.
Otacon waited, sitting down and encircling his legs with his arms, waiting for the men to come search the truck and find him. But time passed, and they didn't do either. And the geek allowed himself a tiny hint of hope. Exhaling loudly, Otacon gathered himself and tried to listen better. Yes, there were some men nearby, two at the least. Probably on the road above. If Snake had been right, then they wouldn't see the truck. If Snake had been right...
The codec rang, almost making Otacon jump in the air.
"Otacon," Snake's rough voice said "I've finished planting the C4. I'm making my way out of the hangar."
"You're done? Really?" Otacon could scarcely believe it "O-Okay then, get out of the base as quickly as you can."
"I'll be there ASAP. Then we'll detonate the charges."
"Yes..."
God help him after Snake did that. Otacon could only hope the men above would return to their base instead of scouting the perimeter. Otherwise, he was dead.
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Making his way out of the underground base was proving to be easier than getting in. Snake retraced his steps, taking advantage of the already disposed-of guards and well aware of patrol routes. A bunch of scientists escorted by soldiers were approaching his position through a corridor; Snake hid inside a locker and let them pass, coming out only when their steps faded. Smirking, the spy reached a staircase that led upwards.
"Emergency! Emergency! Explosives have been detected inside the base! All non-EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) personnel must evacuate immediately! I repeat, all non-EOD personnel must evacuate immediately! This is not a drill!"
Alarms began to ring loudly, red lights lit up and men and women went into a frenzy. In a matter of seconds, the secret complex went from quiet and orderly into a chaotic storm.
"Damn! They've found the explosives!" Snake cried out, pressing a finger to his ear and calling Otacon through the codec "Otacon, the enemy knows I've rigged REX with C4!"
"Oh, no!" Otacon yelled "Snake, how far away from the hangar are you right now!?"
"Not much," Snake hissed. A group of scientists were coming, and he hid behind some steam pipes next to a wall "I'm in level B-8 right now, close to a staircase that leads to the surface," he said quietly "Otacon, they'll dispose of the charges soon."
"I know, I know, but there's nothing you can do about that," the engineer said sadly, still nervous "Snake, you need to get out of there right now. Abort the mission and come back unseen. Leave that place and come back!"
"..."
"Snake? Are you listening to me? Abort the mission!"
"I can't do that, Otacon." Snake's voice was firm, yet oddly calm.
"What do you mean, you can't?" Otacon said "There's nothing left to do! They've found the C4, so you need to get out of there right now!"
"There is something left to do," Snake replied. Otacon didn't need to see his partner to know that he had grabbed hold of the C4 remote detonator.
"No, you can't!" Otacon cried "It's suicide! It's-"
"Done. Like this."
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Author Notes 2: Aaaaaand it's a cliffhanger! I'm sorry for doing that, really. I don't like cliffhangers all that much, but I just had to split my writings or else this chapter would have been eleven thousand words long, which is a chore to read. Also, sorry, but doing this gives me a bit of breathing room so that I can write calmly without feeling rushed, knowing that I have some updates after this one already set to be published.
So, sorry again! Aside from that, did you like this? It's the first time we get to see Snake in action in this fic, as well as his working relationship with Otacon. I plan to expand on that. As for Nastasha, you probably already have an idea of where her plotline is going, if you played Metal Gear Solid 2. She will feature more prominently in the future, I can tell you that.
As usual, thanks for reading, hope you liked it, and please review. See you soon!
