Fan Fiction ❯ Metal Gear Solid: Sovereignty ❯ Instinct ( Chapter 12 )

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Chapter 12: Instinct

Colonel Iosif Dzhugashvili paced back and forth inside his colonel's quarters. The room was a
mess after Gangstein's antics, but that was the least of his worries. The anxiety that followed him
ever since the first nuke launched didn't diminish in the least. Fear, hate, and anger swirled
around in his mind like fish in a tank. The stress seemed to age him by the hour. The hairs that
weren't already gray would soon follow suit. Average people get butterflies, but when you're the
head of a group of mercenaries that just launched a nuke against the world's strongest
superpower and your only weapon against them is now useless, well, you get the idea.

It was only a matter of time before the Americans came knocking at his door. Every man before
him had fallen to grand America. And with his prized weapon, Metal Gear, now without it's
nuclear capability, his capture and persecution was inevitable. What had he got himself into? Up
shit's creek without a paddle. Why did he let that man talk him into it....

There's only one way out, the colonel though to himself. He felt for the Desert Eagle at his side.
The only way. But, no, he couldn't, taking his own life was out of the question. He would run.
Where? Not even he knew -- he would just run.

Suddenly, a sentry appeared at the Colonel's door, "Colonel, you called?"

Iosif continued pacing back and forth, trapped in his own thoughts.

The sentry once again spoke, "Colonel?"

The second "colonel" caught the aged Russian's attention, "Oh, yes, of course. Tell the men in
the hangar to prep the Sukhoi immediately, Corporal Rohm.

The sentry couldn't help, but notice his CO's obvious anxiety. Iosif's eyes were widened, and his
skin was pale, even for a Russian. The sentry responded, "Yes, Colonel." The guard began to
leave, but turned back to ask a question, "Colonel, do you plan to leave?"

"Yes," Iosif stared down the sentry.

"Well, the SU-27 isn't big enough for all of us. What're we and the Gurlukovich army going to
do. What about?"

The colonel remembered the dozens of men that patrolled the facility as he spoke. Men that
followed him, believed in him, and he was taking the coward's way out by escaping, and leaving
the rest to die. But there was no other way. The colonel placed his hand on Rohm's shoulders,
and lied to his face, "Don't worry corporal, I promise you, each and every soldier of the
Motherland will be saved and be there by my side when Russia is restored to it's former glory."

The corporal believed his CO, saluted him, and left the room still uncertain. Iosif couldn't
believe himself. Soon all of the men who had put their trust in him would be betrayed. He would
escape in a jet to somewhere, anywhere, out of Russia, and out of danger. Yesterday he was one
of the most respected and powerful men in Russia, and now, in the eyes of the world, he was
nothing more than a filthy terrorist.

__________________

Where the hell's the light?

Snake stood in complete darkness inside of the corridor. He didn't realize the lack of light in the
hall when he first entered, until now. The operative slowly continued, searching for nay source of
light.

After about a minute of walking, a small red light caught the soldier's eye. He stroked the light
and heard a swooshing noise in front of him. A wave of light rushed over the operative as he
entered the lab.

Computer modules and electronic panels filled the laboratory. The far side wall was made up of
glass except for the front door of the lab. Each module had it's own layer of dust accumulating
over it, obvious the room hadn't been used in years.

Snake sauntered through the room as there were no signs of any sentries in the area. Suddenly the
knob on the front door began to shake. The commando rolled to his left behind a computer
module, and out of sight of the entering person.

Helena entered and walked past the computers and electronic panels. A large, black duffel bag
hung over her shoulder.

"Freeze!" Snake shouted out.

Snake popped out from behind the module, and, standing a few feet behind the terrorist, trained
the Tokarev at her. Helena turned and faced the legend, not knowing and not caring who it was.

Snake could see the mild surprise in her facial expression when she saw the agent and the
Tokarev, "Snake, I like you better naked."

Referring to their encounter in the jail cell, Snake didn't crack a smile. "Where is it?"

Helena cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't play games. Where's Metal Gear?"

"Oh, that old thing. You know you could have a lot more fun with me."

Snake wasn't phased by her continuos innuendo. "Where is it?"

Helena motioned forward toward Snake. He didn't have time to waste and needed answers now.
Snake grabbed her arm with his free hand, swept her leg, and flipped her onto her back. He
pointed the pistol straight between the eyes of the terrorist. Snake defiantly stated, "Where is the
underground facility?"

She responded, "So, you wanna do it on the floor?"

Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with Helena, he shrugged and walked toward the open
front door of the lab.

"Hey Snake."

Snake, about to exit the room, turned and faced Helena, who stood in the center of the room,
nearly ten meters away. In her hand was a Mossberg 590, 12-gauge, pump action shotgun. Just as
Snake rolled to his right, she pulled the trigger and the

shotgun shell erupted from the Mossberg's barrel and was sent steaming the philanthropist's
direction. The slug slammed through and disintegrated the glass behind the rolling Snake.

The operative cursed, completely caught off-guard by Helena's attack. He was amazed a woman
barely 5'9'' and not a pound over 130, just fired, singlehandedly, a 12-gauge shotgun with little
recoil.

The chk-chk of Helena cocking the Mossberg resonated through Snake's ears. He thought about
it over and over in his head, where did it come from? She was unarmed, then Snake remembered
the duffel bag she was carrying.

"Come on out, Snake!" the New Dominus mercenary taunted the philanthropist.

Helena pulled the trigger and the shot resonated throughout the lab from the Mossberg's barrel.
The blast flew over Snake's head and demolished the front door into splinters. This was the
opportunity he needed to gain the advantage in this firefight.

The operative popped out from behind cover, and, knowing he hadn't much time, fired off a
single shot in Helena's direction. After the shot, another loud bang erupted from the lab, which
was soon followed by a searing pain right below Snake's right shoulder blade. The force of the
shot sent the commando his knees.

Little known to Snake, but in Helena's free hand was a Ruger P97 American-made pistol. She
used the shotgun to lure him out and had the pistol at the ready when he appeared. She looked
down at her forearm, below the elbow was a small cut where Snake's bullet grazed her.

The New Dominus mercenary dropped the Mossberg as she sauntered over to the computer
module. Helena raised the Ruger as she moved past the panel, but no Snake, all she found was a
trail of blood. She followed the trail to find Snake, lying on the lab floor a few yards away, one
hand over his bleeding shoulder and the other firing his Tokarev.

The 7.62x25mm slug sped out of the barrel and entered Helena's abdomen. She cried out in pain
as she dropped the Ruger and covered the wound with her hands, before she fell to her knees.
She removed her hands from the terrible wound and caught sight of her hands, stained with
blood. The mercenary had fatal internal bleeding, and she knew it.

Snake got to his feet, with one hand over his shoulder wound, the other still pointing the Tokarev
at the injured terrorist. Helena, on the floor, leaned against the module next to her, unable to keep
herself up. A trickle of blood fell from her lips. Snake could see the life slowly draining from her
face.

"You got me, Snake." Helena struggled to even speak.

Snake didn't answer.

"I thought I could do it. I thought I could be the one."

"Be what?"

"The one that could kill Solid Snake. It's all he ever talks about. I wanted to do it for him."

"Gangstein?" Snake asked.

Helena didn't answer.

"Where's Metal Gear?" Snake questioned, knowing he didn't have much time.

After a few moments of silence, Snake realized the New Dominus officer was no longer of this
world.

Snake turned away from Helena's body and his attention then focused on a more pressing matter.
He removed his hand from his shoulder, blood continued to pour out of the wound. His first
thought was to remove the bullet, but with no knife in hand, his hopes were dashed. Then
Snake's eyes focused on Helena's duffel bag across the lab.

The operative knelt over the bag to find numerous rifles and pistols, and, upon closer inspection,
a knife sealed in a sheath. Snake lifted out and examined the knife. It looked unused and clean,
infection was an injury he could not afford. With time running out, the commando entered the
point of the knife into his wound, which luckily wasn't as deep as he first thought. The pain of
the impromptu surgery was evident on the soldier's face, but he grinded his teeth and pushed
through the pain. After a few minutes the bullet was removed from Snake's shoulder and the
wound was tightly bandaged.

Snake dropped the knife back into the bag. Knowing the Tokarev pistol wouldn't be sufficient,
he scoured the bag looking for a more favorable weapon. After the search, he ended up with a
Browning BDM pistol in his leg holster.

Snake approached the demolished door. He pushed the plank of wood and the door fell
backward. The commando entered the lab hallway. To his right the hall ended with a single door,
to his left the hallway twisted to the right.

"Otacon," Snake contacted his partner through the Codec, "I'm outside the lab."

"Good, head to your left, and the take the first door to your right."

"And beyond that?"

"It's the end of the line. You'll end up in a staircase and can go one of the two ways. Up the
stairs takes you to a bridge which takes you to the crew's quarters, and ultimately leads to back to
the hangar. The lower level door takes you to a missile storage facility. I'd suggest you take the
storage facility route. And that's where my prints end. You'll have to find your own way to the
underground facility."

"Hm. I'll find it."

"How?" Emmerich dared to question the legend.

"One step at a time, Otacon."

Snake followed his fellow philanthropist's directions and made his way to the door. He opened
the door ajar, but stopped when he heard someone beyond the door. Two sentries were talking at
the base of the steps.

One of the men were Corporal Rohm, who continued, "Colonel Dzhugashvili is planning to
escape in the Sukhoi jet. The look in his eyes... he's afraid."

"Afraid?" the other sentry asked.

"Yes, of the Americans."

"What do you think this means?"

"I don't know, Lennard. If I had to guess, I'd say he's planning to get the hell out of here before
the Americans come and kill us all."

Lennard became outraged by Rohm's comments, "No, he would never abandon us! If we go
down, then we go down together! We are comrades, we are family!"

"That's what I want to believe, but... I don't know," Rohm hung his head, afraid for himself, and
for his comrades.

"Get back to your patrol. Everything will work out. Mother Russia will be sovereign again!"

Corporal Rohm ran up the stairs and out of Snake's view. The other sentry, Lennard, began
walking to the door Snake hid behind. Right before the Russian reached the door, Snake opened
it and surprised him. Before the tango could raise his assault rifle, Snake grabbed the barrel and,
with his other hand, knocked him out cold with a well placed punch.

"Hey!"

Snake turned his head to find Lieutenant Miller running down the hall toward him.

"Pipe down!" Snake instructed as he closed the staircase door. "They could hear you."

"Sorry," Miller said, but soon changed the subject. "You killed her? The terrorist, Helena
Taylor."

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No, but... it's just..."

"Well what is it?" Snake was becoming irritated.

"You break into a heavily guarded facility, and on the way you're killing professional
mercenaries. Who the hell are you?"

Giving up his identity didn't work in Snake's favor, he didn't want the US government or the
Patriots to know his whereabouts, so he recalled a familiar alias, "Lieutenant Junior Grade
Iroquois Pliskin, former Navy SEAL."

Miller was even more perplexed by Pliskin's answer, "The SEALs? So what're you now?"

"Apart of the foremost group on the eradication of Metal Gear." Snake revealed.

"Metal Gear... that's the thing that crashed into Manhattan, when that military test drill went
wrong."

Snake smirked at the Patriots ability to cover things up. "What else could have launched an
undetectable nuke?"

For the first time Miller thought about it, how did they launch the nuke? Once again Miller felt
he was left out of the loop. Pliskin was the only one telling him the truth.

Miller replied, "You're right."

Then an idea that favored both men crept into Snake's head, "You're here for Colonel
Dzhugashvili, right?"

"Yes, do you know where he is?" Miller anxiously answered.

"I know where's gonna be." Snake couldn't be in two places at once, he needed Miller. "Do you
remember passing a hangar on your way here?"

"Yes." Miller still didn't follow where Pliskin was going.

"The colonel is planning to escape in the jet. You need to get back to the hangar and stop him
before he does."

Miller thought long and hard about whether or not to trust the man in the sneaking suit. Colonel
Andersen called Pliskin a terrorist, an enemy of America, but, going on instincts, Miller wanted
to trust Pliskin. And he was always taught to go on his instincts.

Snake was growing impatient, "Look, if you want to ‘do your job' and help your country, then
you have to learn to trust me, and fast. There's no time lose."

Miller, through the exoskeleton's viewing system, looked at the man he knew as Pliskin. He saw
a man speaking with sincerity. Miller finally entrusted the Lieutenant Junior Grade, "Alright, I'll
do it."

"Good."

Snake opened the door, but stopped when he heard Miller, "Where are you going? You're not
going after Metal Gear, are you?"

"You can tell your superiors that Metal Gear SAM can't launch another nuke, it was damaged
during the first launch."

"But–" Miller stopped when Snake went through and closed the door behind him.

The lieutenant crouched and activated the Codec. "Colonel, I've just been informed Metal Gear
is no longer nuclear operable, it was damaged in the first firing."

"That's great news. I'll inform the President and the country immediately. How'd you obtain this
information?"

"The other intruder, Lieutenant Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin, he's ex-SEALs. Apparently he
works for an anti-Metal Gear organization." Miller informed his CO.

"Lieutenant Pliskin?" the colonel construed his face into one of confusion. An anti-Metal Gear
group? A highly-skilled intruder? This man was beginning to sound more and more like... no it
couldn't be. But if it was... "Lieutenant, do not believe anything this Pliskin tells you, for all we
know he may be an unidentified terrorist."

"What're you not telling me, Colonel? Do you know something about Pliskin?" Miller accused.
His suspicion of his CO grew with every word he spoke.

"Time is running out, son. Find Colonel Dzhugashvili so you can get the hell outta there." There
was something Colonel Andersen was keeping from Lieutenant Miller, but it had nothing to do
with Pliskin. The faster Miller got out of the facility, and out of the exoskeleton the better chance
he had to survive.

Miller couldn't help but notice Andersen avoided the question. "Yes, sir."

The Codec transmission ended.

Miller had an undeniable feeling deep inside him on what to do. Whether or not to follow his
colonel's orders or trust Pliskin. He decided against following his colonel's orders, and instead
go to the hangar. This feeling told him he had to get to the hangar.

This feeling was instinct.