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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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Puddles gather rain
Trudeau: Yes, well there are a lot of bleeding hearts around who just don't like to see people with helmets and guns. All I can say is, go on and bleed. But it is more important to keep law and order in the society than to worry about weak-kneed people who don't like the looks of�
CBC reporter (interrupting): At any cost? How far would you go with that? How far would you extend that?
Trudeau: Well, just watch me.
In 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down. It was a life-altering event for many people in Communist countries, and was generally hailed as the symbolic end of the Cold War. The end of that war meant spending cuts for military affairs in most of the Western world.
Not all of the world took this opportunity to decrease their budgets. In a small south African country near Galzburg, spending on military affairs went up in response. Outer Heaven was constructed. Big Boss pulled in experts to help in its design. In 1990, research began again on a thirty year old dream. Arthur Emmerich pulled files out of storage, and Aleksandr Granin's preliminary plans for a bipedal, walking death-tank, capable of launching a nuclear missile at any country in the world without detection, were refined.
The first model, the TX-05, was a total failure. Completed in 1992, the prototype was used to send normal missiles at Baghdad. The attack failed. Arthur Emmerich pulled himself out of Big Boss' arms, taking a leave of absence and placing Dr. Petrovich Madnar in charge of further development on the project.
Emmerich spent some time with a psychiatrist trying to work out his problems, then married her in October, 1992. Big Boss was angry, but what could he do to stop it? He blew cigar smoke into their faces while the photographer took wedding pictures.
Petrovich's TX-11 in late 1993 was more promising, but still failed in some respects. Arthur returned to the base and took some time to re-familiarize himself with the project. Then, in early 1994, there was a leak.
Big Boss and Arthur Emmerich tore through the base, trying to find out who had given the information to the UN, but to no avail. It only got worse. In late 1994, rumblings in the US organizations that Big Boss kept himself under were starting to question Outer Heaven.
In June 1995, it came to a head: FOXHOUND was ordered to become involved in the Outer Heaven situation.

The soft drumming of rain on the rooftop woke Arthur slowly. There were definitely benefits to living in Africa during the rainy season: the warmth and the greenery were beautiful compared to the dull, lackluster, grey afternoons with Julie. Of course, the company was better here, too.
He felt breath on his lips suddenly, and the darkness behind his eyes got a little darker. He had to force himself not to smile; then the breath became hotter and closer. When the lips touched his, he gave a small sigh of contentment and opened his eyes.
Yes, the company was much better in Africa.
Big Boss pulled away slightly. "Ready to wake up?" Arthur closed his eyes and shook his head. There was a lot they needed to do today. TX-55 was almost operational, so there was all the testing with dummy warheads that needed to be started. And then there were the anomalous radio signals and the mysterious break-downs of key scientific components that had to be explained sometime soon. Not to mention planning and logistics and tactical strategies that needed to be thought out for the next few months...
"We have to, don't we," sighed Arthur, turning his head and letting his eyes open into disappointed slits. Big Boss gave him a lopsided grin and nodded. "Ah, well." Arthur sat up and stretched.
"I love you," said Big Boss suddenly.
Arthur closed his eyes and fell back into the bed heavily. "You only say that before you give me bad news."
"That's not true," protested Big Boss.
Arthur raised an eyebrow at the other man. "The last time you said I love you was just before you told me about how you had to take off to deal with those idiots in Japan. The ones we sold Sarin to at an unreasonably low price-- I told you selling for low profits to religious fanatics wasn't going to gain us anything. The time before that was... let's see... for Iraq to deal with that damned Kuwati problem last October. Meaning I had to cut my time with Hal, Julie and Emma short so that someone was supervising the base. And before that was--"
"I get the picture. I don't say it enough."
"Damned right." Arthur sighed. The bad news wouldn't go away just because he was avoiding it. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, turning his exposed back to Big Boss. "So what is it this time?"
"It's not bad news," said Big Boss slowly, his hands starting to knead Arthur's back. "I've called someone in about the problems we've been having. Coming this morning."
"That doesn't sound bad," said Arthur carefully. A massage? Seemed particularly grim. Big Boss didn't think he was going to take this well. "Can we trust him? Or her," he added. One of the investigators recently had been women.
"Him. We can trust him. He's done a lot of work for me..."
There was something wrong with that sentence... what was it... ah. "For you? What, not us?"
"You always do pick out the important words," said Big Boss, a rueful note in his voice.
Arthur frowned. "You know what I think about secrets between us."
"It isn't as bad as you think," said Big Boss quickly. "I just didn't want you to have to deal with him, and I needed someone to work on things without having many ties to us, and--"
"Fine, fine," said Arthur, cutting off the excuse with a wave of his hand. "So who is it then?" Big Boss leaned his forehead against Arthur's neck. Arthur stood and looked at the man in annoyance. "Out with it!"
Big Boss nodded and gave a strained smile. "Revolver Ocelot."
Arthur blinked for a moment, then sat down on the bed. "Tell me you aren't serious. Tell me he hasn't been working for us."
"Arthur, he's good at what he does." Arthur's eyes widened and his teeth clenched. "I can't let feelings get in the way of a mission, so in all good conscience, how could I let them get in the way of a battle?"
"And this is a war." Arthur shook his head. "A war for people's minds and hearts. I know." It wasn't like he didn't know Big Boss' ideals. Hell, the entire base got a lecture in them once a week, it seemed. "I still say, if we're fighting for their hearts, we have to have some feelings."
"We can't afford distractions."
"Then why are you bringing him into this?" Arthur stood up and picked up a pair of boxers from the pile. He shook them out and looked at them suspiciously to see if they were dirty or clean, then put them on. "You know it's going to distract me. And probably you, too."
"It's been almost ten years since you last saw him, Arthur," said Big Boss reasonably.
Arthur hated it when Big Boss was reasonable. He shrugged angrily. "But you've been working with him the whole time. And you never told me."
Big Boss was silent for a moment. Arthur took the time to pick out a shirt from the drawers near the bed, then sat down and unfolded the too-stiff starchy material.
"I do love you," Big Boss said finally, a note of uncertainty in his voice.
Arthur sighed. "If I didn't think you did, I'd have left you a long time ago." He finished buttoning up the shirt. "So what's he authorized to do?"
Drawers and closet were opened on the other side of the room while Arthur picked a pair of socks out of the dirty pile. He ought to reprimand the cleaning staff...
"He can question anyone, including us, about the incidents. Full run of the base. Standard procedures."
"And you really think we can trust him?" asked Arthur warily, looking over his shoulder at Big Boss.
The other man nodded seriously. "I do."
Arthur sighed heavily and walked to Big Boss, kissing him on his bearded cheek. Big Boss turned and kissed him back, rough lips pressing firmly. Arthur's hands reached up and tangled themselves into Big Boss' stark white hair. They stood there for moments, semi-clothed and holding each other.
Eventually, they pulled away simultaneously, as though they'd planned it that way, and quickly dressed. Big Boss pulled on his hat, while Arthur put a pair of safety glasses around his neck. "When's he coming, Boss?"
Big Boss opened the door. "He should be here already," he said. "I sent Monkey to--"
"Oh, for God's sakes, we're not on a mission. His name is Edik Ivanov. He's worked with you as long as Ocelot apparently--" Arthur shook his head in annoyance. "But then, you don't use his name either."
"And I'd rather not use yours. It's dangerous to do it. A secret organization demands code names for all the leadership positions. If you didn't insist--" Big Boss stopped himself. The argument had been fought many times over the years, and neither one had given any ground, with the exception of Arthur's own name.
Arthur shook his head, but said nothing as they walked out of the barracks into the rain. The water fell on his glasses, making ugly streams in his rapidly fogging vision until he took them off in disgust, stuffing them into a front pocket before he grabbed Big Boss' arm for extra guidance.
A number of mercenaries fought around them, practicing techniques to use on the enemy, splashing mud up as Big Boss and Arthur walked to the small airplane landing strip. The rain didn't do much to wash it off their pant legs.
"Sirs!" Edik's voice rang out, rising up over the rain. The umbrella he was carrying wasn't quite big enough for all three of them, and Big Boss pushed Arthur under it. Arthur put his glasses back on and looked around the tarmac. "The plane's just arrived," said Edik loudly. He adjusted his grip on the handle of the umbrella, leaving dark rivulets streaking down like black mud.
Big Boss gave a short nod and looked at his watch. "He's a little late," he commented.
Arthur wiped the water off his brow ineffectively with his soaking sleeve. "It's the rainy season. Pilot might have had some difficulty..."
The plane engine was powering down, but Ocelot apparently wasn't willing to wait. The door opened in the back, and Ocelot jumped down, one hand on a wide-brimmed cowboy hat to keep it on. He looked... old. He certainly hadn't aged well: he was balding, his hair had gone a shade of grey that wasn't quite silver, and worry lines stood out on his forehead, even under the shadow of his hat.
He walked purposefully to the three waiting men and extended his hand to Big Boss. Big Boss took it and they shook. Lightning flashed above, and Arthur shook Ocelot's hand as the thunder began to roll. He was firm, brief, and professional. Edik held out a hand as well. Ocelot looked at it for a moment, then disdainfully shook it.
"We should go inside, sir," said Edik respectfully.
Arthur nodded. "The mess hall's good enough. I need some coffee."
"Just a peaceful place to drink in¹," agreed Ocelot, pulling one of his guns out and twirling it around his finger. Arthur's eyes caught on the motion.
"We'll have someone bring us coffee," said Big Boss, one eyebrow raised. His hand reached out and pushed Ocelot's gun back into its fancy holster. "We need to be more secure than the mess hall," he said with a sidelong glance at Arthur.
Arthur nodded, but it was lost on Big Boss, who'd already turned back towards the main buildings. "Come on, then," said Arthur. Ocelot was already moving, but Edik started ahead only when Arthur did, keeping the umbrella positioned to protect them both from the elements.
They walked quickly, none managing to completely avoid the mud and water they kicked up with each step. Two of the mercenary trainees, smaller than the others, stopped their training as the group passed, and Big Boss waved them over. "Two of my more interesting recruits," said Big Boss with a grin. "Johnny and Luther. They're brothers from Thailand."
"Training children?" asked Ocelot. "What a waste of time."
"They have special powers," said Arthur, while Big Boss talked to the muddy twins. "Invulnerable to bullets, or some such nonsense." Ocelot raised an eyebrow and looked at his gun with a little smirk, as if to ask if he could test out those special powers.
"He has high hopes for them," said Edik.
"Don't believe a word of it. They're little kids, and they shouldn't be here any more than Hal should," Arthur said with a frown.
"Whatever you say they are," said Big Boss with a slight nod, "they're capable of a lot more than anyone expects from a child, and that makes them valuable. Now let's get going." He walked onwards, and the other three followed.
Big Boss led them to the Rifle Room on the upper level of the command building and sat down at the head of the table. Arthur sat down at his right, Edik took the left, and Ocelot pulled out a chair, sat, and put his feet up on the table, spurs spinning as he did so.
"So... is this a formal briefing?" asked Ocelot.
"Get your feet off the table," said Edik. "It's worth a small fortune."
Ocelot rolled his eyes, but rolled his wet, muddy boots off, leaving dirt all over the wooden surface. "Have some care for something other than yourself," snapped Arthur, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," muttered Big Boss with a shake of his head. "Let's stop worrying about the damned table. There are more important things to think about."
Arthur nodded, letting Big Boss guide them back to the point of this whole meeting. "Right. So where do we start?"
"At the beginning," said Big Boss. "The first incident..."
"Probably the security breach, two years ago. Maybe we should talk about things that are a bit more current?" suggested Edik.
"Right. The radio broadcasts," said Arthur with a nod. Ocelot pulled out one of his guns and started twirling it around idly. "Are you going to pay attention?"
Ocelot raised an eyebrow. "Maybe we shouldn't be working together, Boss," he said, shooting a smirk at Arthur.
Arthur stood up so fast his chair fell over. "If someone's out of here, it's you. You will pay attention, and you will have respect for the command structure of this base, or I will--"
"Enough, Arthur!" Big Boss stood and slapped Arthur's shoulder. "Pick up your chair and sit down. Ocelot's got a talent for this that we are sorely lacking, so sit down and work with him instead of against him. And you," he said, turning his attention to Ocelot, "will stop provoking him. I need a united front, not a couple of bickering ex-lovers."
Arthur felt as though he'd been slapped. After all that talk of not bringing feelings into it, Big Boss was going to bring up that... event of ten years ago? He righted the chair and sat down, crossing his arms. Big Boss would hear more about this later. For now, he was right. A united front was the most important thing.
"We've monitored unauthorized use of several radio frequencies," said Edik unemotionally, as though nothing had happened. "At first, they were using our own stations for it, blacking out the security cameras. When we posted extra men at the stations, they built a radio."
"And whoever it is, they must have access to some sort of vocal modifier. Big Boss first found this because he caught a transmission," said Arthur.
"Who was it to?" asked Ocelot.
"It was in Russian," said Big Boss, his eye snapping onto Edik's face. "And we've tracked down a part of the recipient: it went to the Bratstvo." Ocelot took a sharp breath. Edik looked puzzled, and Arthur's mouth turned down. "The Russian offshoot of the Philosophers." Big Boss' eye turned away, almost disappointed. He'd obviously hoped for a reaction from Edik.
Paranoia on top of paranoia.
Ocelot pulled his gun out of the holster and began twirling it around. "I've heard of them, of course," he said slowly, "but I don't see why they would be interested in this operation. Are you making moves against mother Russia?"
Big Boss stood and snapped Ocelot's gun away. "Of course not. Edik, Arthur, would you excuse us?"
"Sir... if you're going to keep him on, I've got a lot of information to give," said Edik slowly. Big Boss' only reply was a quick gesture at the door. "Yes, sir," said Edik, the disappointment clear in his voice. The man stood and walked out, hang-dog expression on his face.
"You can order him out, but I am not leaving," said Arthur sourly, closing the door behind Edik. "I'm second in command here."
"I didn't think you'd want to be here," replied Big Boss evenly.
"It might have been nice for me to know some things in advance. I'll have to settle for finding out about them now."
Big Boss sat down, his eye meeting Arthur's briefly before he nodded once and turned his mind back to business. "Ocelot has been working for me for ten years. You know that," he said slowly.
"Us," interjected Arthur. Ocelot looked at Arthur with one side of his mouth slowly turning up into a smile.
Big Boss continued. "He's been working undercover for us. A double cross against the Patriots. Is that the right number?"
Ocelot inclined his head and shrugged.
"They've got plots inside plots, and more than enough money and people to put us all in very deep holes," said Big Boss grimly.
"So... are you saying the Philosophers are against us?" asked Arthur quietly.
Ocelot rolled his eyes. "The Philosophers aren't even pieces on the board anymore, Emmerich." He grinned and looked at Big Boss. "You should have sent him away before you brought me back to the base. It would have been a lot more fun with--"
Big Boss shook his head, pushed himself away from the table and grabbed Ocelot, throwing him up against the door. "I took you in, Ocelot. You were shit out of luck from screwing up a mission. You hurt my partner. I could have fucking killed you for that, but I took you in. You owe me, Ocelot."
"--with people who knew what was going on in charge," finished Ocelot in a smarmy voice.
Arthur bit the inside of his lip and wondered at the violence of the response but said nothing. He wasn't exactly opposed to violence against Ocelot. He and Julie had talked about that entire episode in one of their earliest sessions. She'd set him straight about the whole thing.
"I took you in when they would have thrown you out," said Big Boss dangerously, "and don't think you got back in their good graces on your own. Now. Have we done something they don't like?"
Ocelot's arms went up and pushed Big Boss' arms away. He looked at Arthur for a moment. "Not that I'm aware of. But you can't believe that I'm privy to their decisions."
Big Boss dropped his arms, shook his head in disappointment, and sat down, his head dropping into his hands.
A knock had Arthur reaching back and opening the door. Johnny and Luther came in with coffees. They gave them to the three men before being waved out by Big Boss. Arthur pushed the door closed again.
He breathed in the warm, slightly bitter smell and leaned back in his seat. "Do the Russians see eye-to-eye with the Americans nowadays?"
"No," said Ocelot quietly. "Just because the cold war has an official end point doesn't mean they think it's over.
"We still need to find out who's been leaking information. The Wisemen's Committee want one of my men from FOXHOUND to deal with Outer Heaven." Big Boss took a sip from his own coffee, then made a face and pulled out his cigar case instead. He offered one to Ocelot, who took it. "Pressure from the UN," he said in disgust. "Peaceniks."
"There's been some low level evidence of sabotage, too," said Arthur unhappily as the smoke rose around him. "All small stuff, but it's building." Arthur shook his head. "I'm still not sure we can trust him, Boss. We know they're involved. What if he's... triple crossing us? What if the contact's been him all along?"
Big Boss frowned and looked away.
"They've been funding you," said Ocelot. "Surely you don't think--" He suddenly looked between Arthur and Big Boss and went quiet.
"Always hold something else back, don't you, Boss," muttered Arthur and shook his head. "Fine, keep me in the dark."
"We'll talk later," said Big Boss quietly. "Ocelot, I'm trusting you to find our traitor. I'm sure you know how important that is to me. To us," he said, with a sideways glance at Arthur. "If it isn't the Patriots, we need to know who it is, and we need to know fast. Our operations should be going online in..." he looked at Arthur.
"Within the year, if not a few months," finished Arthur. "If you people have been funding us, then you have some interest in the successful completion of Metal Gear, not to mention all the other work we've been doing here."
Ocelot pulled out a gun and twirled it with one hand while puffing on his cigar. "The military cells you've been training are interesting." Big Boss nodded.
Big Boss nodded seriously. "The terms I discussed before... you agree to them?"
Ocelot nodded and murmured a quiet assent.
"Good. I need to talk to Arthur. If you would excuse us? You have full run of the base, as I said before. Security downstairs will give you an access card. And mind the conditions."
Ocelot left with a flourish of a salute. Arthur turned away from the man and drummed his fingers on the table while Big Boss nodded. He waited for the door to close before he said another word. "It's amazing," said Arthur quietly, "that I can even tell the difference between sabotage and deliberate action. After all, I don't even know who our financial backers are."
"It's the same ones we've been working with for fifteen years. I just happened to find out who one of them was and what he was a part of."
"And you didn't think to mention it to me?"
"Well, Arthur, it's not as though you take anything I say about the Patriots and the Philosophers seriously. It's only been in the past year and a half that you've stopped calling it a conspiracy theory."
Arthur frowned. "And I've been taking it seriously since you got through to me."
"Julie is working with them."
"Oh for-- Stop being paranoid! That's just your jealousy talking."
"You see? Everything I say about them is paranoia or jealousy or..." Big Boss shook his head. "And that's why I never told you about the Monseigneur's ties to them."
Arthur paused and tried to work backwards from Big Boss' obsession with code names. "Isn't he the Columbian? The one funneling drug money for stealth technology?" Big Boss nodded. "Why would he be a part of an American supremacy organization?" asked Arthur, bewildered. Then he considered it and shook his head. "Ocelot told you that, didn't he. I guess you believe everything he says, don't you."
"Do a trace on him. Get a third party to do it."
"God dammit, this is so stupid--"
"It's the truth," said Big Boss vehemently.
Arthur sighed and leaned his head back. "This isn't getting us anywhere, is it. All right, I'll run my own traces on him and see if I can get anything back about the whole Patriots thing. I don't know. The closer we get to the completion of your plans, the more conspiracies you give me."
Big Boss grinned. "It's getting more complicated because we're almost there, Arthur. And when we get there, people aren't going to look at us as historical remnants of memories that ought to be buried..."
Arthur smiled at Big Boss as the man's tone grew more distant. "And we'll get rid of them all," promised Arthur, a sharp and vicious note in his voice. "All the Patriots of the world. Everyone will finally be free."
"Once they've finished helping us to our goals," Big Boss agreed. Arthur sipped his coffee contentedly and took in a lungful of the smoke. "As soon as they're not useful to us..."
Notes
1 High Plains Drifter
2 Thank you to Charshy
3 This last section has another 10 parts. I hope everyone enjoys... and reviews! Please?

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Brothers in Arms