gotta clip the lines

[soldiergenes]

Who: Solid Snake & Niko Bellic
When: 1/21
Where: St. Murtel
What: Looking for answers, Snake breaks his way into a locked-down building while Niko acts as lookout. When things go south, it's time for a getaway.
Warnings: Possible violence and language.


Out of the three cities that are easily accessible on this planet, St. Murtel is the one that sets all the alarm bells off. That may not be the case for everyone, but it is for Snake, who's only ever known genetic engineering to lead down dark roads. He's the product of this kind of thinking, and he's a trained killer. His twin had harbored plans of world domination. Simply put, it's a terrible idea.

Despite his concerns, the first week or so that he'd spent conducting intel hadn't revealed much, save for programs to generate what you and your "match's" child would look like. (He'd hoped Danny wouldn't find out about it. They didn't need to go there.)

Then, he'd watched from the periphery of the crowd as a man had been arrested right in front of the main genetics lab, yelling something about the Komai, whatever that was. Not too long after, Miller had sent him a message from Avelle, confirming usage of the same symbol there. A broken chain -- it's not that hard to put the pieces together.

Today, there had been a broadcast. Only flashes of images, but enough to confirm that dark underside to this planet that Snake had suspected all along.

Not willing to wait around any longer, Snake weighs his options. Trying to sneak his way into the main laboratory would be a death wish waiting to happen, even for him. But there are satellite buildings, additional labs where further experiments are carried out (or so he guesses). All of them are locked down, but some locks are easier to crack than others.

Having taken out the guard detail around the back side of the building, Snake heads for the door he'd spotted earlier with Niko at his side. He doesn't need to ask Niko if he's ready. The man's insisted he'll be able to get him inside, and Snake's not going to question that at the eleventh hour.

Comments

[soldiergenes]

All Snake could think as he pressed forward was that the Moira captains were under-utilizing him and Niko, given what the two of them could accomplish together. Yet most of the time, all they did was move cargo around. What a waste.

Even now, they'd organized this themselves rather than because of their captains' orders. Snake hadn't intended on following their directives from the start (not any more than he needed to, anyway), but this really nailed in just how much more they could accomplish on their own.

If you wanted something done right...

Aware now that Niko would also be skulking around, Snake made for the lab area that he'd spotted earlier. Inside there was a lone scientist looking at something through a microscope. Snake worked his way around the large countertops until he was able to come up behind him. He shoved the barrel of his gun against the small of his back, causing the man to yelp as he threw his hands up.

With his free hand, Snake reached over and hit a button on his MID that would let it broadcast the whole conversation to Niko. With any luck, it would record everything that was said too.

"Start talking," Snake demanded, voice gruff and forceful.

"Who are you?" the scientist asked, tone quivering as he tried to look over his shoulder. Snake just pressed the gun harder against his back. "O-one of the Komai?"

"No," Snake said, shaking his head, "but I'm trying to figure out who they are too. What do you know about them?"

"Not much," the man said, shoulders shuddering in fear as he braced his hands against the counter in front of him. "They just popped up recently and started making all kinds of trouble. They have something against Link'd, Inc, but I don't know why..."

"Couldn't imagine," Snake grumbled as he cast a glance at the microscope. "What kind of work are you really doing here?"

"Gene matching. You can give people survey after survey, but it's their genes that will really determine the best match."

Snake was in the middle of rolling his eyes when the room went dark for a second, before the normal lighting was replaced with a glaring red flash. And then the sirens started.

"Shit." The security system must have finally picked up on what Niko did that to that door.

With no better option, Snake slammed the scientist's head down against the table to knock him out. (He really needed to get his hands on an M9.) Then he moved out of the lab at a quick pace, though avoided outright running.

"Looks like it's time to blow this popsicle stand," he spoke into the MID. Niko had gotten a hold of that motorcycle for a reason, after all.

[vengeance_driven]

Niko was good at being back-up. It was something he prided himself on, and even if he didn't appreciate the nature of his work he was glad of the quality. Coming out with his party alive and successful was always his ultimate goal, especially when that party was a friend. And for all that sometimes he seemed very closed off and apparently had a special stealthy action movie vixen suit Snake was definitely that. He had every intention of getting him out of here.

He watched as Snake entered the lab between spaces in shelves, and then grabbed a bottle of something with a flammable warning attached to it. Excellent. Exactly what he wanted.

He tucked that into the pocket of his coat and crept along the wall, watching the shapes in the lab through the window, hearing Snake's rough growl as he commanded something out of an obviously scared guy. Guess he'd find out what when he got out. But his eavesdropping was cut short when the alarm blared, and Niko immediately took a defensive stance. Yeah, time to go.

He was headed for the door and jamming a rag into the bottle as Snake spoke into the MID.

He didn't see a popsicle stand when he came in?! He would have remembered that, because he'd been spending the last few days memorizing potential escape routes. Did he somehow miss one? He'd have to ask about that later, too.

"Okay, hurry. I'm going to need your lighter." Because he was going to make it real damn hard to follow them out of that alley.

[soldiergenes]

Snake was definitely closed off, he would never try and deny that. He'd gotten a lot better in recent years, though -- ever since Shadow Moses. While it still took him some time to think of anyone as a friend, the fact that he'd agreed to take on this op with Niko was far beyond what he would have been willing to do five years ago.

As it turned out, going on death-defying missions with people had a way of making him feel closer to them, and so this botched break-in of theirs would give Niko more points in Snake's mental book.

I'm going to need your lighter. That didn't leave Niko's ultimate plan as much of a surprise. Snake didn't know how big of an explosion he had planned, but they needed to move fast and starting a fire to block their escape seemed like a perfectly sound idea to him.

Maybe he'd be able to get his hands on some grenades eventually, too. He'd have to keep that in mind.

"I'll meet you at the back door," Snake responded before cutting the call so that he could focus on backtracking. There weren't many people here yet, so all it took was vaulting over a railing to get back to ground level. He found Niko by the door and immediately identified the molotov in his hand. Snake tossed his lighter over and then positioned himself behind Niko, out of the potential blast range. "Light her up."

[vengeance_driven]

He held it out away from him and did just that, slamming it down on the ground just far enough away that they were spared spatter. Panicked shouts were already starting, great, they'd noticed! And Niko slung his rifle and ran outside, sprinting for the bike. No time to disassemble it. Snake was just going to have to deal with hugging up against a gun.

Yeah, they were probably going to get some attention and soon, judging from that alarm.

He looked over his shoulder at Snake, revving the bike and waiting for him to saddle up. "You feel me move, you try to move a little with me, alright?" Because he had another idea, and it involved some tight turns. He trusted Snake to be a good enough shot to disable any vehicles if they needed to.

[soldiergenes]

As the molotov exploded into a fiery blast, Snake shielded his face with one arm and then started for the door. That was bound to keep their pursuers busy. It might not take them long to put it out, but it would buy them enough time that they could book it back to the safety of the Moira. Anything to make sure they weren't detained or put behind bars.

This wouldn't be the first time that Snake had ridden on the back of a bike, so he didn't need much in the way of instruction from Niko. He hopped on behind him, his chest wedged against Niko's back, and then wrapped one arm around his waist, his other hand clutching his gun.

"I know the drill, don't worry. Just get us out of here." Snake usually left the driving to someone else, and he would probably be put to better use shooting at anyone who came after them anyway.

[vengeance_driven]

There was the sound of sirens, and rather than feel nervous about it, it was as if something snapped in Niko. As much as he said he wanted to be a good person, someone that his family was proud of, a man of the caliber his cousin saw him as? He really wanted to tear apart the pavement and leave anyone wanting to take him down wanting.

He burst out of the alley, leaning forward as the wailing was drawing closer. He was at least making an effort not to hit anyone but he didn't deny to himself that watching people get the hell out of his way wasn't satisfying. He had no love of his own life, but fuck if he didn't love making people fail at taking it.

There was some vehicle crawling up on them, a patrol vehicle of some sort, and he turned sharply to head towards a slanted vehicle loader. If he hit that thing right, he could make it all the way to the low roof of the building next to it.

"Sorry!" he shouted at someone who dove way out of the way, but he was smiling through it as he did. God he missed this. Deny it all he liked, he missed this, and he knew he was good at it.

He got them up on that roof, turned hard to slide the bike to a stop. He almost warned Snake to be careful of his balls, but eh, if he knew the routine he'd be fine. He drove off that roof, landing on the street on the other side.

[soldiergenes]

Snake had been prepared for a quick getaway. If Niko had any experience with making trouble like this, he wouldn't still be here if he didn't know how to get the hell out of dodge when the occasion called for it. All the same, he revved the bike from zero to fifty in a matter of second, and Snake's grip around him grew tighter as he adjusted to the quick pace and the tight turns.

Better that Niko did swerve out of the way of pedestrians. They didn't know how deeply involved all of these people were, who counted as innocent and who was guilty. Not that it was up to them to decide that in the first place, but thinking more rationally, crashing into someone would slow them down.

When a truck threatened to catch up with them, Snake twisted around so that he could get a few shots off, aiming for the tires instead of the windshield. He managed to hit one, a satisfying pop followed by the truck swerving wildly.

Then the bike swerved and Snake turned back around, realizing a split second before it actually happened what Niko had in mind. As the bike rocketed up the ramp, Snake wrapped both arms around Niko's middle and tucked his head against his shoulder.

Just as soon as they'd hit the roof, they were driving right off the other side. Snake eased up off the seat for the landing, then swiveled around in search of any pursuers. "I think your little stunt may have lost them." But if Niko knew what was good for him, he'd keep driving.

[vengeance_driven]

"We're good for now." But they both knew when they were being hunted, people didn't give up so easy. Still, it was turning into a game of careful dodging. He had slowed but it meant watching for flashing lights around corners, or the blip of sirens. Stay off streets that were suspect.

"Tell me if you see anything." The hunt for them was going to turn the area into an everchanging maze. Thankfully, at the moment, a surprisingly small hunt. He guess he shouldn't be surprised. They wanted to keep things quiet. Including whatever they'd done.

"What did that guy say?" He hadn't heard the questioning, just knew that Snake had managed it. And while they were going relatively slow, working their way out of this mess, it was a good time to ask.

[soldiergenes]

It was true that Link'd, Inc could only do so much in trying to hunt them down before it attracted more unwanted attention. Snake wasn't willing to say they were in the clear just yet, but he lowered his gun to his side and focused instead on keeping a careful eye out for any other pursuers. "I'll watch our six," Snake assured Niko, who he figured still needed to keep most of his attention on navigating the unfamiliar city.

Now wasn't really the time for any in-depth conversation, but Snake answered Niko's question all the same. "I think I recorded it. It wasn't much. I guess this Komai group is pretty new and they've been a serious thorn in the side of Link'd, Inc. The guy I talked to played the innocent act."

Maybe the scientist really hadn't known what kind of unethical practices his organization was responsible for, though he had to be pretty damn naive if that was the case.