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Brothers in Arms	By : ktatters Category: +M through R > Metal Gear Views: 3912 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Metal Gear, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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The blind men shout

Money often costs too much - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Night 1: Outside Chernivtsi

The area around Chernivtsi's section of the M14 highway was fairly heavily forested. The trucks couldn't follow them off the road at this point, so Arthur had the men set up camp not far from the shoulder in a place where the trees were not particularly dense. They'd set up as many tents as they could, but the sabotage had been extensive: only six of the tents could be set up once the lack of poles and ripped canvases were taken into account.

When they'd finished that, he'd had the men start a fire, which was even now turning into a good bonfire style blaze. Since he wasn't going to check on the nuclear material before Big Boss came back, he sat down cross-legged on a tarp with all the maps in his lap. He sat there for a good fifteen minutes before realizing he wasn't getting any work done.

He looked back at the trucks and shook his head slowly. He wasn't going to be able to concentrate on finding a better route through the Middle East while half his mind was wondering which of the men had sabotaged things.

He put the maps aside.

"I never got an introduction to those three men who came with Ocelot," he called over the fire. "Everyone's got a travel ration or two in their packs. Let's take a break." He waited for a few moments as the men nodded agreeably, then a few moments more as the hard rations came out of the packs. He left his own alone. The things tasted like crap.

"So, we'll all introduce ourselves. My name is Arthur Emmerich. I'm Big Boss' lieutenant, and in our army, that means I'm second only to him. So remember: when you're talking to me, I'm as 'sir' as any of the other officers you've met," he said with a smile. A few polite laughs sputtered miserably into the air. "So, you. Ocelot's man. What's your name?"

"Vitaliy, former spetznaz, rank of Lieutenant." Arthur nodded and stared at the man. Clearly a grunt, he had none of the sparkle in his eye that young up-and-coming officers had. His blond hair looked more like a dirty red in the firelight.

"Edik," said the tall man next to him. "I come from the regular army." This one did have a certain glimmer in the back of blue eyes that were very slowly scanning the area. Arthur marked him mentally as someone to watch.

He looked at them all carefully as they introduced themselves. Garabed, the third of Ocelot's men, seemed as dull as Vitaliy, and his brown hair and stolid Russian figure was as nondescript as they came.

Schluter and Dirgham introduced themselves next, almost completing each other's sentences. Schluter's red tufts of hair were as different from Dirgham's untamed mane as could be, but the men apparently shared a mother.

Perez finished his introduction with a sly question. "What's the cut going to be, with these three extras on board?"

Sasaki beside him chimed in. "We're already being paid too little for this mission." Several of the others nodded along.

Arthur put them both in the troublemaker part of his mind. He and Big Boss were already out of pocket on this mission. "The most dangerous part of the mission is over," he said slowly, "but the lengthy part is just beginning. Their cut will be less than the rest of you."

"But still, ours will be lower?" said Sasaki.

Arthur frowned. Not even a full day into the mission and they were having problems with money? "We'll still have enough to pay everyone," he said quietly. "And you know Big Boss has never left anyone high and dry."

None of the men looked very happy. Arthur's frown deepened. A man worried about the money wasn't likely to sabotage the mission when the outcome of that would be no income. "We're on a tight schedule, as you all ought to know. We need to be in Baghdad in less than five days. If we aren't there in time, no one gets paid."

The men mumbled to themselves and several glanced over at the flat tire. If he was lucky, they were all associating the end of the mission with the money. The saboteurs weren't exactly tipping their hands.

"So. Um. What's it like, fighting for Russia?" asked Wagner, a very young recruit they'd picked up from Germany a few months back.

Arthur tuned out as the conversation turned to the lighter subjects of death and destruction for the love of one's country. It was the kind of wide eyed question he'd asked of soldiers eight years ago, and it had ceased to have any real meaning to him.

He picked up the maps. There had to be a faster way around the mountains after Istanbul... If only they'd been able to book passage on a ship across the Black Sea... There just weren't roads in the area...

"But what about his reputation as a torturer?" said Garabed, pulling Arthur's attention back. "We all know why he got that nickname." Edik raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"An ocelot's just a cat," opined Schluter.

"Not that nickname," said Vitaliy. "He's known as Shalashaska." Even Arthur had a confused look, and he knew enough Russian to work in the country. It certainly wasn't a standard Russian word. "It means prison."

Arthur shivered as a cold breeze passed by them. "So how did he get that name?" he asked.

"It's just a rumor," said Edik uneasily. "I don't think he'd like it if we talked about it..."

"Afraid of your unit leader?" asked Dirgham. "Can't be very good if he can only get respect through fear."

"Oh, he's good," said Edik. "Too good. Some say he sold his soul. Some say he didn't have to." Arthur raised an eyebrow. He hadn't thought the Russians put much faith into gods and devils. "I heard that he put over fifty men in prison in Afghanistan to get at a single man who was fighting a battle outside the compound. I heard he shot every one of them in both elbows. Then he gave them each a gun and told them they could shoot themselves if the pain got too bad... I heard the screams from inside the prison drowned out the gunfire on the fields of war."

Arthur opened his map wide in front of him and rubbed his forehead. It was far too similar to recent events. The countries were different, the aggressors changed, but...

"That's not what I heard," said Vitaliy slowly. "I heard he got the name for his work in Russian prisons. He had over a hundred rebel fighters at one point. His specialty was information. He didn't kill a single man: he left them in their cells without food, but said he'd give them bread when they talked. When the first man died, he fed the body to the rest of them. They started talking soon after that."

Arthur held back a sigh of relief. Rumors, that's all they were. Good men wouldn't do either of those things, and Ocelot couldn't be as bad as that: he'd rescued Arthur, after all. Even self-interest could have been achieved by other methods, if Ocelot was as sadistic as that. No, these were the idle conversations that men had about their superiors sometimes, building people into legends. A grain of truth probably resided at the heart of it all, but this was simply too far.

"I heard it was five hundred, fifteen years ago, and he was looking for a single man. He wasn't even a soldier, just some scientist." Garabed grinned. "Heard he killed them all when they couldn't tell him where the guy was."

Five hundred now? Arthur raised an eyebrow. Ocelot had probably killed one man, and it had probably been the one he was looking for.

"So what's Big Boss like?"

Arthur held back a smile and turned his head down to the maps, pretending to try another route around the mountains.

"Always pays on time," said Dirgham. Arthur frowned. Ocelot's men came up with fish-stories about 500 tortured men, and Big Boss' own handpicked soldiers came up with an easy statement of fact? Well. At least they were being realistic.

"He's pretty good with a gun, too," said Schluter.

"Pretty good? He can knock off a target at 500 yards without a sight," said Sasaki. "And he does it under heavy fire, too. He's the best cover a man can have."

Arthur smiled softly. That was more like what they should be saying about Big Boss. The man was a living legend, the units he trained in demand all over the world.

"And 'sir' over there? Seems too much of the distracted kind for a real soldier." Arthur bit his lip and poked a finger at Istanbul a few times.

"Oh, he pays more attention than you think," Dirgham said quietly. Arthur looked up in time to see Schluter nod at his half-brother's words and wondered exactly what they were thinking.

"Sir?" Sasaki said, getting Arthur's attention. "I'm sure the food is fine. No one wants just rations."

Arthur stared at the man for a moment. What kind of a man would want to eat the food from the truck after seeing the way everything else had been damaged? The kind that had sabotaged it and knew there was no risk, perhaps. "I'm sure no one wanted to sleep outside either," said Arthur finally. "We're not going to risk it."

How long had Sasaki been a part of the team? A year, perhaps two? He hadn't shown any disappointment with any of it before, but now he was worried about his cut of the money, possibly sabotaging the mission...

"Sasaki, over this way." Arthur stood and waved the man to him with one finger then walked away from the rest of the men around to the other side of the trucks. He leaned against one of them and watched the traffic going by, bright lights zooming in the darkness.

Sasaki stood at attention beside him.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

"Thought we could have a chat. Cigar?" Arthur pulled one out of his pocket.

Sasaki nodded and took it. "I didn't know you smoked, sir."

"I don't. Big Boss insists I carry them." He grinned, pulled a lighter out of another pocket and lit the Cuban, biting down the nausea. "How are things going, Johnny?"

"Fine, sir." Sasaki made a show of scratching his head.

"I was wondering, is there's a problem? You haven't been so worried about the money before, as long as you were paid."

"Sir. Just saving up." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I found myself a girl," said Sasaki with an embarrassed shrug. "She wants me to settle down and so on..."

Arthur nodded. "Have kids, that sort of thing?"

"Yeah."

"Children are... the most important thing," said Arthur quietly.

"I'd name my son Johnny. My dad was named Johnny Sasaki too."

"Really?" Arthur sighed. Apparently, that was the extent of things. He licked his lips as the cigar smoke drifted toward him on the breeze. "We ought to get back to--"

"Did you know he was a Russian?"

"A Russian named Sasaki?" Arthur shook his head in confusion. Wasn't that name Japanese? Oh, why did it matter anyways?

"Oh, yeah! And a soldier. But he wasn't there for me."

"I see," said Arthur hurriedly. "We have to get back over there, though, and-"

"I just can't understand it. I'll always be there for my kids. I won't let being a soldier get in the way of being a father." Arthur felt his throat close up and he choked. "I mean, it's so important to pass the torch and teach them to read our messy and sad history-" The sound of a horn burst out through the night.

"Thank God," muttered Arthur.

"What was that, sir?"

"Nothing, Sasaki! I have to get over there to help Big Boss now. Go see what the rest of the men are doing." Arthur didn't bother to wait for Sasaki's reply before hurrying over to the supply truck. Big Boss jumped out of the truck, apparently happy to be back with the rest of the troops. "Boss, you need any help with-"

The kiss was unanticipated but definitely nice. Arthur closed his eyes and let Big Boss do the work for a moment before he pulled back to question the man. First 'separate sleeping arrangements' and then a passionate kiss?

But Big Boss' eye was squarely on Ocelot. Arthur's eyes narrowed. "What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem," he growled. "But you and I are going to sleep in the supply truck tonight."

Arthur stared at Big Boss for a moment, but the other man refused to meet his eyes. "Fine, we'll talk about it later." Just what he needed. Arthur had enough problems. He didn't need to deal with everyone else having breakdowns around him. "Men want something to eat."

"I'll get it," said Ocelot.

"No," said Big Boss quickly.

"Oh for-" Arthur rubbed his forehead. "I'll help him. You need to go over there and act as a leader, not a delivery boy."

Ocelot smiled none too pleasantly. "Don't worry, Boss. Your second in command will watch me." Big Boss said nothing. "You trust him, don't you?"

Big Boss scowled and still said nothing. Arthur felt his teeth grinding and had to consciously release the tension. "Of course he trusts me."

"It's you that I don't trust, Ocelot," said Big Boss.

Arthur's hands found themselves in tight fists suddenly. "I endorsed him," he growled.

Big Boss looked at Arthur finally. "Yeah, you did." He took a deep breath and closed his eye. "He certainly isn't stupid," breathed Big Boss before looking at Arthur again. "All right. You win. How many supplies did we salvage?"

"Six tents. The men are going to be cramped in them tonight, or they'll have to sleep under the stars. If we'll be in the truck, that should free one of the tents."

"And did you find out who sabotaged things?" Arthur shook his head. "Right." He frowned. "The sandwiches are probably best for now."

Arthur waved Big Boss away. He could certainly deal with simple things like what food to get for the men. He didn't like this: Big Boss was treating him as though he didn't have years of experience as a leader, as an organizer, and as Big Boss' own partner. Arthur was being treated like some rookie.

A tap on his shoulder nearly made him jump out of his skin. "Don't do that!" he said loudly.

Ocelot pulled his hand back. "Do what?" he asked, his eyebrows narrowing.

Arthur looked at Ocelot for a moment and bit his lip. "Make some noise, will you?" Arthur walked past the man. "I don't like people sneaking up on me."

"All right." Ocelot's spurs clinked suddenly as the other man fell in beside Arthur. "You know, I don't think he's going to come around," he said in Arthur's ear.

"Big Boss? Well... he doesn't trust people very easily. Not like when he was younger. He sees conspiracies behind everything."

"But you don't?"

Arthur opened the back of the truck. "Sometimes, things are clear. If someone holds a gun to your head, you don't need to look in the shadows."

"Hm." Ocelot inclined his head momentarily. "If he can't trust me, I'll have to leave."

"Don't worry about that," said Arthur. "He'll come around. He always comes around to see my side of things."

Ocelot raised an eyebrow while Arthur got into the back of the truck, then followed him. "He loves you that much, does he?"

Arthur picked up a sandwich packed near the edge and made a show of examining it. "Love's a funny word that no one uses, don't you think? No one really needs to use it. Here, hold this." Arthur grabbed a bag from under the food and handed it to Ocelot. The other man held it open with a mildly inquisitive look on his face. "Well, actions speak louder than words, don't they?"

"If you say so," he said noncommittally.

Arthur stayed silent for a while and just picked the sandwiches out of the box and dropped them into the bag. "They'll be waiting for us at the fire," he said finally. Ocelot nodded and motioned for Arthur to go first.

Arthur took a seat next to Big Boss when they got to the blaze. Big Boss' eye was once again fixated on Ocelot, who seemed to be trying to blend himself into the shadows to avoid the older man's gaze while at the same time passing sandwiches to his left and right.

Arthur elbowed Big Boss a little more forcefully than he had to.

Big Boss looked at Arthur with a sour expression on his face before his eye began to roam the rest of the men. Arthur offered him the food. He ignored the conversation from the soldiers as they ate. Big Boss was silent.

When they'd all finished, Big Boss stood up. "We have a long day tomorrow to make up for today's delay. I don't think I should need to tell you all to sleep lightly. If anyone knows who damaged our equipment, I expect you to report it to me or to Emmerich. Got it?"

Nods around the fire answered him. Ocelot shrugged and crossed his arms as Big Boss walked to the supply truck.

"Sleeping arrangements. We can't have Ocelot or his men sleeping separately tonight, so I'm sorry but you won't have the chance to choose your own. Ocelot, you're with Menezes. Vitaliy and Barajas, Edik and Sasaki, and Garabed and Jameson. The rest of you can choose your own bunk mates." Arthur stared at the men a moment longer before he followed Big Boss.

By the time he got on the truck, Big Boss had already laid out a sleeping bag on one of the only bare sections of floor. "So. You going to tell me what's going on between you and Ocelot? And don't say nothing. We both know you're overdoing things."

"I don't like him, Arthur." Big Boss turned. "And I don't think you're operating to your usual high standards." Arthur shook his head. "You're the one who needs to talk, Arthur. It wasn't a good situation, and I got you out as soon as I could, but you can't-"

"Not fast enough. And we're not discussing this."

"You're jumpy. You're trying to make command decisions and you're obviously not thinking enough about them. You had a damned flashback to it last night. You need to talk."

"I don't need to defend myself to you right now," said Arthur through clenched teeth. "All right, maybe I'm not at my best. Maybe they got to me more than you think they should have, but I'm not you, I haven't gone through training to keep me sane during torture, and I'm still your second. Unless you'd rather have Ocelot, since he's the most qualified."

Big Boss shook his head and ignored the last statements. "It's because you don't have that training that you need to talk about it. How can you not see that?"

"I'll talk, but not now. We have to keep going ahead, not sit around looking back. And right now what's important is the way you can't trust Ocelot. The man saved my life. I owe him, so you owe him."

"We don't owe him a thing if he set you up to get shot at," Big Boss said quietly.

"Why would he do that?" It wasn't exactly a question, more an exasperated statement.

"Because they can't infiltrate us."

"Not this again. The Patriots... And maybe they're the reason the Chernobyl operation went bad? They wanted a nuclear disaster in the Ukraine? Is that it?"

"Don't be an idiot, Arthur. You can't just--"

"Oh, let's just go to sleep. I'm tired of the excuses and the idiotic reasoning about why you're right and I'm wrong."

They stared at each other for a moment. "You aren't thinking straight," said Big Boss in a slow, tired voice. "You're really not. So let's forget this conversation happened and go to sleep."

Big Boss lay down. Arthur ran a shaky hand through his hair before doing the same. He looked to his side and saw Big Boss' eye closed. "I... I love you," Arthur said quietly.

"Just go to sleep," said Big Boss.

Arthur sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Just before he fell truly asleep, he thought he heard the sound of metal clinking outside the truck, but it was clearly just his imagination.

Notes

Шалашаска - Russian sites about MGS use this spelling, but there is no dictionary entry for it in any of the R-E dictionaries I checked, so maybe Kojima was lying in the booklet
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Brothers in Arms