Operation Intrude N313
"C'mon, get your parachute on now, Snake or you'll miss your jump." Eagle Eye ordered once more. Solid Snake flicked his cigarette and stood up, he grabbed a parachute and put on a flight helmet. He walked towards the plane doors and simply saw it open slowly. Snake could feel the gust of wind blow through the opening doors. He took one step at a time, feeling the pressure of the wind blowing and howling through the night sky. Snake took a deep breath and leaned forward then leaped off the plane to begin freefalling, he remembered the steps of doing a HALO jump, he was just waiting to be at the right altitude. Snake leaned forward to increase the velocity of his descent, doing one flip then two and straightened his body to descend faster while counting down from 85 seconds to time the release of his parachute. Snake descended past 5,000 feat, getting a clearer view of Outer Heaven and continued to count down,
" 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… " Snake grabbed the string of the parachute and yanked it as hard as he could to release the parachute. The parachute released and pulled Snake back as it fully opened and slowed his velocity, allowing the rookie to slowly descend towards the Outer Heaven base. Once he was close enough, Solid Snake detached the parachute and fell into the ocean. He began swimming underwater till he reached the base then swam up and grabbed onto the ledge to pull himself up. Snake peaked and glanced around to see if he was clear to climb, he got himself up and then removed the helmet, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Snake looked at the codec and dialed Big Boss's frequency by tuning a knob on the wrist device then holding the earpiece,
"This is Solid Snake, come in?" asked Snake,
"This is Big Boss, glad to see you made it in one piece, Snake."
"The HALO jump wasn't too bad, a nice calming dive before getting right to it."
"Right, first thing first, I recommend before going to look for Gray Fox is to recon the area. How familiar are you with the basics of CQC?" Snake stood up and stretched his arms and legs as he stared into the South African bay,
"I know the basics and much more." arrogantly replied Snake which had Big Boss let out a chuckle,
"That's the spirit I want to hear, Snake. Update me about anything that happens, prepare to commence Operation Intrude N313." instructed the commander, Solid Snake drew out his M1911 Pistol and then his knife and assumed a stance,
"Commencing Operation Intrude N313…now." recited Snake as he tapped the earpiece to end the call. Cautiously, Solid Snake stepped forward into the open base. The base's interior felt cool and yet eerie. Snake observed the metallic interior of the old base which also had stacked containers that reached the ceiling. The atmosphere almost intimidated him but Snake kept his composure and remained focused. He walked a few steps forward until he suddenly heard two distant voices coming closer from the right hall. Instinctively, Snake quickly and quietly moved behind one of the crates as the approaching people got closer. Solid Snake leaned slightly to peak at the soldiers, the mercenaries had light ballistic masks along with a light uniform that had jungle camo, helmets, ballistic masks and combat boots. Snake noticed that the men were holding M16 rifles and had standard Berettas holstered on their hips.
"<Did Ishmael give new orders?>" one said in Afrikaans,
"<Same as before, guard the prisoners. I just got back from Beta to transfer one of the prisoners to the cells there.>" Solid then got a clever idea, he banged his pistol against the metal container which caught the attention of the mercenaries,
"<What the fuck was that?>" one of them asked,
"<Best to check it out, on me.>" the other said as the mercenaries did a simple formation, they carefully strolled their way in the direction of the sound. Before they can turn the corner, Snake quickly grabbed and pulled away one of their rifles then wrapped his arm around the mercenary's throat and then swung his leg to wrap it around the other mercenary as he tossed the one around his arm to the wall, slamming him head first and knocking him out. Snake aimed the pistol at the trapped merc's head and cocked the hammer,
"<Alright punk, I got two questions for you, you got any more friends around here, punk?>" asked Snake in fluent Afrikaans as he pressed his thigh on his throat,
"<Argh! There's a couple of guys stationed nearby!>"
"<Smart, question number two, the captured prisoners, where are they?!>" demanded Snake.
"<We had to split them up! We got a few in this building but you won't be able to have access to the elevator without a functioning key card!>" told the mercenary, Solid patted the merc until he found an elevator key card.
"<One like this? Thanks for the help, pal.>" Snake whacked the mercenary with his pistol to knock him out. Solid Snake then dialed Big Boss,
"Big Boss, can you read me?" asked Snake,
"Loud and clear, update me, Snake?" Big Boss requested,
"The prisoners have been divided and sent to different buildings. Can't tell where each of them are being held."
"The buildings are separated into three codenames. Right now, you are in the Gamma building, following Gamma it's Beta then Alpha, Alpha has an elevator that leads you to the main fortress of Outer Heaven. Those hexagonal platforms on the water are heavily guarded and almost impossible to infiltrate without going through the Alpha Building. Right now your priority is to find the prisoners in the Gamma building, did you find an elevator key, son?" Snake patted down the mercenaries and took their ammo and grabbed one of their rifles,
"Yeah one of the mercs had one on them. Big Boss, does the name Ishmael sound familiar to you?"
"Yeah, Ishmael, prophet of God and progenitor of the Arab people. Guess these soldiers are calling their boss a prophet or something."
"Sounds delusional to me."
"You never know what goes through the soldier's mind. Sometimes the only god they will worship is the craziest soldier leading the sheep. Keep me posted, Big Boss out." The codec call ended and Snake checked his clips of ammo and began to ponder his next move.
" Hmm I could head on to the second floor but maybe there's more to find here? Best not to take chances. " He holstered his pistol then drew out his Mk22 Hush Puppy and began walking to the right hallway the mercenaries came from. He walked until reaching the end of the hallway, approaching two metallic doors that opened automatically once he stood in front of it. Snake exited the hallway into the hot, dry yet grassy terrain of South Africa, Snake noticed the area around him was mostly fenced and there was a driveway leading to the Beta Building. Snake then rolled and rested against one of the two trucks parked nearby. Snake slid and side stepped toward the right, keeping his ears alert for any footsteps or chatter. He heard someone snickering inside the truck, Snake pressed his ear against the truck to detect where exactly they were then aimed his Hush Puppy upward. Effortlessly, Snake pulled the trigger and heard a hard thud, the silent soldier quickly climbed into the back of the truck and noticed the unconscious mercenary had something interesting in his pocket. Snake pulled it out and saw it was a keycard with a number 1 engraved on it,
" Could come in handy… " Snake put it in his pocket then noticed a cylindrical container that was labeled RATIONS .
" Food is food, like Miller says… " disgustingly Snake thought, letting out an uncomfortable shiver. He placed it in one of his pockets and searched the crates to find a couple of landmines inside, Snake took most of them then walked out of the truck and was about to head back inside until he heard a group of mercenaries shouting in Afrikaans to hurry up. Snake crawled under the truck and looked at the group of incoming mercenaries from the other side of the fence, they had some weapons aimed at a man. Snake could tell he was an old man, crying under the sack covering his face.
"<You better hurry up, Madnar or that pretty daughter of yours will get a magazine inside her.>" ordered a mercenary in Russian,
"<Please…please I beg of you don't hurt her->" the Russian scientist got hit in the back of his head,
"<Enough talking, get walking!>" Madnar hurriedly walked towards the building as the mercenaries followed them from behind. Snake crawled quietly and rushed inside the building, he couldn't waste anymore seconds. Snake was approaching the elevator until he quickly hid behind some crates as he spotted two mercenaries on guard right in front of the elevator.
" Fuck… " cursed Snake,
" Ok, two guys with M16s, probably a few feet from me. How do I do this? Same distraction or should I try something different? "
"<Changing posts.>" one told the other as they both walked to the right. Snake peaked and raised an eyebrow,
" Huh…guess that was easier than I thought. " Snake walked towards the elevator and pressed the elevator keycard onto the reader to call the elevator. He got inside and pressed the second floor button and relaxed for a brief moment. Snake felt a little confident that his mission was going smoothly so far. He was confident in his ability and was just focused on expecting anything to happen. The elevator stopped, the doors opened and that's when Snake noticed two cameras moving side to side, he spotted the red light and realized they were recording, Snake quickly hid behind the door and contacted Big Boss,
"Come in Big Boss?" called Snake,
"Loud and clear, what's going on, Snake?"
"There's two cameras moving back and forth, I can't seem to find a way to move past them unnoticed." ranted Snake, Big Boss just let out a light laugh,
"Snake, you are a FOXHOUND Operative now, there's no such thing as not finding a way, you make your own way. Is there anything around you?" Snake quickly glanced around and spotted a cardboard box in the corner.
"Just a lousy cardboard box." Snake replied,
"Use the box, Snake." Big Boss sternly replied, Solid Snake raised an eyebrow,
"What? But it's just a cardboard box, how is it supposed to help me?" asked Snake,
"Solid Snake, I'm not exaggerating when I say the success of this operation hinges on how you use the cardboard box. A cardboard box is a very important tool for infiltration missions and an ideal way to fool your enemy but like you said, a cardboard box is just a cardboard box. The question is what will you do, Snake? Big Boss, out." The codec call finished and Snake simply looked once more at the cardboard box, questioning on how he would use it. Snake quickly pulled the box towards him and crouched as he covered himself in the box. Snake peaked through the opening and observed the motion of the cameras, counting in his head as the camera moved back and forth. He took a deep breath and took a few steps as the camera moved. When it was coming back Snake quickly stopped and got on his knees to be still. He waited until he was out of the camera's sight in order to run into the hallway but stopped once he saw a mercenary about to turn the corner. The mercenary looked bewildered as he noticed the box just standing there, almost menacingly. The mercenary took aim at the cardboard box and walked towards it, eventually standing right in front of the box. The mercenary lifted the box but that's when Snake struck and grabbed their ankles, he twisted them to snap it and pulled to slam the mercenary down. The other mercenary heard the commotion and rushed to the scene but was shot by Snake with his Hush Puppy, Snake noticed the downed mercenary getting up so he leaped and knocked his teeth in with a strong knee strike. Snake sighed in relief then noticed a door to his left with an opening where he could insert the keycard, there was also a large number 1 painted on the wall.
" Maybe these key cards unlock specific doors, neat. " Solid inserted the card to unlock the door, he saw the red light shift green and the door opened automatically. Solid proceeded inside, sneaking past a sleeping mercenary and walking in the hall into the other room. Snake then noticed another door that was on his left where he could hear an odd hissing noise. Snake carefully walked towards it and glanced through the glass to see the room covered in a yellowish green haze. Solid Snake's nose even began feeling a little itchy,
" Chlorine…I need to find a way to get into the room and see where Gray Fox is. " Snake then turned back to the hallway remembering the guard who was asleep. Snake crawled right behind him and placed the barrel of his pistol against his head. The mercenary jumped slightly up and felt the cold steel gun pressed on the back of his head,
"<Shouldn't have slept on the job. Mind if I ask you a couple of questions, friend?>" asked Solid Snake, calm and relaxed, the mercenary nervously nodded and gulped.
"<Why is there gas in that room?>" asked Snake,
"<Because of the hostages. They keep trying to escape so Ishmael activated the traps to stop them.>"
"<What kind of traps?>"
"<Gas rooms, electric floors and much more.>" confessed the mercenary,
"<Gray Fox, where are you holding him?!>" demanded Snake as he placed the knife on his throat,
"<I-I I don't know! All I know is he's being guarded in a level 2 cell.>" Snake patted the mercenary's torso until he dug in his pocket and found a level 2 access keycard,
"<Are there any more prisoners here?>"
"<One, far right of the elevator. That's all I know I swear!>" Snake pressed the knife slightly, but not enough to pierce the flesh,
"<Gas mask, where can I find one?>" demanded Snake,
"<Downstairs! Hallway on the right of the entrance to the port!>" Snake whacked the mercenary with his pistol to render him unconscious.
" He said that the prisoner is nearby, I should probably free him first. " thought Snake. Solid Snake left the room and headed back to the area where the elevator was but turned right instead. He approached a room on his left, Snake suddenly heard two mercenaries coming his way and quickly opened the door to see a man tied on a chair. Snake quietly closed the door and walked towards the tied prisoner and removed the sack on his head, a black haired man with a bruised eye, broken nose and a busted lip. The prisoner opened his eyes and glanced at Snake with a gleam of hope,
"Are you alright?" asked Snake,
"Yeah! Big Boss sent you right?" The prisoner asked,
"Yeah, I'm Solid Snake." Snake held his hand out and they both shook hands,
"Steve Hudson, Steel Eagle, have you seen my sister Diane?" Steve asked,
"I haven't, I'm sorry you're the first prisoner I met. I'm looking for Gray Fox."
"Fox is somewhere deep in this floor, not sure where."
"Maybe pass that gas chamber back there. How did you guys get captured?" asked Snake, Steve rubbed the back of his head.
"We got ambushed on the way to the Beta building. We thought the route might've been harmless but we ended up getting attacked by a tank or something in the distance, I don't know. When I woke up the mercenaries captured us and chose to keep us separated after Frank tried to escape a few days ago. Either way, I want to get some payback on these bastards, anyway I can help, just let me know." Steve told Snake,
"Can you try to get these cameras off my back?" asked Snake with a grin,
"Hell yeah, you're speaking to a tech expert. I can find the server room and back you up from behind the scenes."
"Awesome, how do I contact you?" asked Solid,
"120.34. Do you mind if I borrow that rifle?" asked Steve, Snake shook his head and handed him the rifle,
"Keep in touch, Snake." Steve ran out to look for the server room as Solid began to contact Big Boss,
"Big Boss, I found Steel Eagle, seems like the mercs expected them to come from what he told me."
"That makes no sense, no one but the government and the workers here knew about us sending operatives. They probably assumed I would send people but I will try to investigate if we have a rat, you should do the same on your end just in case. As of now, focus on finding Gray Fox, Big Boss out." Solid stepped out the room and saw that two mercenaries were knocked out, Snake figured that Steve took care of them as he noticed their weapons were stolen. Solid snuck his way back downstairs to the first floor, quietly and carefully maneuvering himself through the patrolling mercenaries until he finally reached the room where the gas mask was, he quickly grabbed it and headed back to the second floor to the room before the gas. Snake put the gas mask on and unlocked the door with his keycard and entered the hazy room. The amount of smoke in the room blurred Snake's view as he took cautious steps going through the hallway, Snake eventually made it to the end of the hallway and quickly took out the keycard to open the door and leave the gas infested chamber. He let out a sigh of relief and removed the mask but then suddenly was caught off by surprise when he saw a group of mercenaries aiming their rifles at him.
"Drop your weapons, American!" one of them shouted as Snake lowered his pistol and put his hands up, cursing himself in his head that he was this dumb to get himself captured by the enemy, he underestimated them and now couldn't help but slightly be worried by what might happen now that he was so foolish to get himself captured.