THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD.

“A plan? Yes, a plan indeed. You’re more adept at infiltration, while I’m more adept at observation and cover fire. You take point and I’ll cover the sight lines. Besides, if those guards outside are simply patrolling the same route over and over, then no doubt that there won’t be too much variation. But I have a feeling that if we enter the building, they might take notice that someone in infiltrating.”

That was the simple part. Get in, get out, get whatever you’re looking for. But without anyone else providing constant feedback, it’d be like walking in blind. Things change quickly, and it meant one had to be on their toes at all time.

“If infiltrate that building and if we get spotted, I imagine they’ll lock the place down like this in around five minutes. Of course, that’s just an estimate. Depending on how much people are inside, it might be a few minutes longer, or a few minutes shorter.”

No doubt the fellow person with him was already considering the possibilities. Sure, Shalem was a different breed when it came to wetwork, he still appreciated the skills of others when they came in handy. And this old veteran no doubt has quite a few plans ready.

He makes sense. Boss can’t come up with a better plan than that — so it’s better to stick in what they do better, “People like are valuable. Don’t forget that,” Seemingly it came from nowhere, but there’s some context for those words. Shalem seems the kind of person that doesn’t complicate things, and goes straight for the killing — in a metaphorical and a possibly literal sense. 

He releases a walkie-talkie from the grip of his belt, he has two pairs just in case one gets lost. Throwing it near him, he proceeds to turn on the other one, “Gimme a call if you notice anything suspicious. You will be my eyes,” With that settled, he starts to make his way toward the building. 

This should be a stroll through the park if everything goes correctly. First thing he does is lean against a wall while crouching, the building seems lacking, but better not take things too lightly now. A guard approaches, and that’s when he acts in a swift manner — grabbing the guard’s jacket and pulling it closer to an inevitable, skillful thrown. The guard crashes against the wall, an instant knock-out, and luckily no other guard noticed that. 

“If they can afford to carry one, I don’t see why not.” Eren spoke while adjusting one of the boxes, his voice holding true to his respect for the Boss and his love for the box. “They’re perfect for covert ops. Like the kind you do, right? Hah – remember when we broke out of prison? You told me to get under one, and it actually worked to keep my undetected. Couldn’t help but be fond of them after that.”

   His training had never been one with cloaks and daggers, but out of reverence for the Boss, Eren had spent the past few months trying to replicate the CQC he had seen spare little of, the skills and precise movement that the Boss had used when they were working together. It seemed to Eren that working solo was preferable for his leader. He was of the same mind, once, back when he could only back that opinion up with gall. Things were different now that he had the skills to afford to go it alone.    Listening to the Boss talk was always a pleasure. There was something special in that voice of his. He could talk a rabid animal down with it and go on to recruit him into their army. Eren was no animal – though his code name would have implied otherwise – but he always felt like it was that charisma that had enticed him into being the Boss’ first recruit, and third-in-command.

“Yeah, I’ve heard all about it. Pretty commonplace for the city,” Eren said, all the while giving the Boss’ choice of headware a very questionable look. “But I can’t imagine it’ll ruin things as bad as one of the last few. A few scares is nothing compared to all-out war. Unless…you’d want to get us involved?”

   While he thought of what the Boss might have become were he to wear that hat of his during the night, Eren glanced towards the northeast, where the city would be. The mountains and distance made it nigh impossible to see from this distance, and even then his vision wasn’t so good anymore. Despite that, he felt a mild pang of responsibility towards the citizens who he had once fought so desperately to protect.

“If so – just give the orders, Boss. I’ll be there.”

“Yeah. I’m glad you agree. Just what I expected from you,” He lets himself fall silent to remind when he first met him. He couldn’t remember why they throw him into jail to rot, but he remembers the escape almost in perfect detail. Boss was quite impressed that the kid was actually eager to try new stuff — unlike most of people he has met. 

Which reminds him.

“Hey, you still have that dog-tag I gave you?” He raises an eyebrow at him, curiosity piqued now that he remembered that. He isn’t sure if he actually checked it or not, but if he hasn’t, he should. 

Lately they’ve only planned things while Boss handled most of the dirty work. He has got some material and resources from several places, using the truck they ‘borrowed’. It is a great truck, actually — quite old, but Boss has always think that the old stuff work ten times better than the new stuff. Probably just a quirk, now that he’s here with so many new technology. But it’s just a personal preference of his - just like  how he likes real cigars over those artificial ones.

   Their army without a nation had set up camp in his house. Being the one to suggest it, he couldn’t complain without being outed as a hypocrite. Months of cleaning experience, however, led him to carefully and decisively make adjustments to the trash left behind by the recruits, short-handed as they were on them. A handful of people was enough for him to handle.    The penchant they all shared for trash was very particular, Eren found. Littered around the camp were cardboard boxes of sizes all large enough to fit a man in – most of which had previously transported food and other equipment. All they carried now was air.    He took it upon himself to put apart some space for all of them – near the general trash area. A pile was to be made out of them, and the damage done to the environment was minimal once it was all disposed of. Quick as he was on his feet, Eren spent the better part of an hour gathering them all up. It made for good exercise.    Appreciation for his own handiwork welled up from himself once he got a good look at the way he had position them all. It had started as a joke, nothing more than something to keep his mind occupied on while he was trashing all of them – but it ended with result far better than he imagined.    In front of him was –    Taken ahold of, he recognized the grip immediately. It was the Boss’ best form of greeting, the CQC hold. Eren’s hand fell loosely to his side after he realized who it was, the voice loud and clear in his ear. Through the chokehold, Eren talked in a voice with a surprising deference.

“Always good to see you, Boss –” he hoarsely breathed in, then tapped on the box in front of him with his foot. “Look closer. They’re being put to the test. To see how practical they’d be in the field.”

   In front of him was a veritable fort of boxes. His toes had beaten away at a lower part of it all, and it made a visible hole in the side – though the cardboard itself wasn’t broken. It was simply a nudge of a door, and the hole was the entryway. One could get in from there, that was clear in and of itself.

“What do you think of it? Pretty good, huh?”

They are taking it slow in this new world, and it has been going smoothly as far as his knowledge goes. Everything here is far too technologic-y for him, still adapting to the times slowly ... but he won’t let it destroy what he has built just for an universal constant, no, this is far more larger than just that in his mind. 

Still, with the news he’s heard around Citta Vision and such, he has been taking preventive measures to guarantee the safety of his comrades. As far as he’s concerned, whatever that’s been appearing in the districts could attack him in any moment - but despite having a low budget, they will manage, as they’ve always done. 

When he caught Eren, he wasn’t expecting to see how thoughtful this kid could be - upon hearing his words, he releases him from his chokehold, scratching his beard amusingly as he looked to the amount of boxes, “Nice work, Eren. I see I could count on you,” He proceeds to move forward the boxes, inspecting them vigorously with his sane eye. Throughout the times they were subjected to several changes, and he can see these boxes are more compact, but their carton is more durable - this should really give a great advantage to his soldiers, “Every soldier should’ve one, you don’t agree?” 

It’s strange for him to be wearing one of these... Chicken caps. However, he had to make a concession, festivities and all. Some of the soldiers in their “base” were talking about it, so he couldn’t let them down like that. 

Besides, back in Russia, this was kind of habitual, wearing such silly stuff to distract the enemy of what’s important, him. He isn’t sure if his crocodile hat was still around, or his monkey mask... but for now, this will suffice. 

He’s outside the base, looking at the wonderful horizon while checking the works of his soldiers, already thinking about what to wear to keep a low profile here. He could see everything from this point, and it’s quite... pleasant. 

However, there’s something that... starts to bother him, when he gives it full attention — Eren throwing some cardboard boxes in the trash, “Eren-?!” He shouts, loudly enough so he could hear it. With agility he starts to make his way to where Eren is, he’s really quick and in less than ten seconds, he’s next to him, passing his hand around his neck and pulling him back, akin to a CQC hold but less dangerous. 

The man nearly dropped the device he was speaking into from the shock of what he was hearing. Another world? How was such a thing possible? It drove the rest of the conversation out of his mind for the moment.

“Boss, that’s…that’s impossible! And I’ve seen people do impossible things, but visiting another world is just…it’s just science fiction.” Miller spoke sternly, but there was a hesitation. Whether it was true or not, he didn’t want to believe it. He sighed. “Whatever is going on here, setting up an FOB is a good idea. Just tell me where we’re setting it up and I’ll handle the rest. All you need to do is focus on procuring resources.”

On the positive side of things, this wouldn’t be the weirdest few days of his life at least. With him and Big Boss here, there was no doubt they would get out of this place before long, and if they were lucky they might even claim it as part of Outer Heaven while they were at it.

“We can talk more at our base of operations, I don’t want to keep the kid waiting.”

That was expected. Boss can’t really blame Kaz, it’s everything but a normal situation, specially for them. When he first arrived he didn’t know what to do, and for his carelessness he ended up behind steel bars. A story to told later, however. 

“I think that too, Kaz. But we’ve got no place to go. If we can’t go back, we’ll make this place our new home,” He is aware of his preoccupations, but they’ll make sure to explain everything to Kaz when he arrives to the new settlement. Small, but will do the trick, like how things used to be in Colombia. 

A cursory glance was thrown at Eren as he was mentioned. He could tell Boss saw something in the kid, and Miller could as well, but trusting him was a different matter. A worry for another time, he supposed.

“I understand. It just seems like a waste to turn my back on nine years of hard work.” There was a hint of bitterness in his tone. Just a hint. “But if you need me here, then I’ll do what I can.” The way that Big Boss had said ‘our world’ made him pause.

“…By our world, you mean Outer Heaven, right?” He truly hoped it was simply metaphor like usual. It had to be, the very fact he was even worried about being in another world somehow was ridiculous. They must be in a city that was just ahead of its time in terms of technology…weren’t they?

There’s talent, indeed. And he has known Kaz for quite a while to know how he would react. Mostly speaking about their own experience - he knows Kaz hasn’t ever been someone who could trust anyone easily - memories of Colombia start coming back to  his mind consequently. Guess it’s hard to kill old quirks, though he has to admit, Kaz’s pride is admirable. 

“Right... I doubt we’d gone too far without you around. What took you so long?” It’s mostly rhetoric, he’s surely right that he passed through the same as him, and Eren  - and seemingly everyone around. 

“Easy, Kaz. We’ve found our ways to fight back.  This won’t be an exception,”  He has noticed the bitterness, but he’s expecting no complains about it. It’s not like it’s either Big Boss or Kaz fault to be in this situation.

So it was Big Boss after all. There was no doubt in his mind now, yet something about this whole situation seemed off. Why would MSF be based here of all places? This was a city filled with civilians, not some lawless military state. That didn’t strike him as something Snake would do unless there was no other choice.

Luckily, a chance to get answers presented itself in the form of the sleekest communication device he had ever seen. The man let go of his crutch and grasped the device as it was handed to him; he was quite impressed by the R&D that must have gone into it. Hesitantly, he held it close to his mouth, much like one would do with a walkie-talkie. Clearly, the man from the 80s was out of his element.

“Boss?” He waited for a bit, a frown forming when he didn’t hear a reply. Not being one to give up so soon, Kaz tried holding it to his ear like an ordinary telephone this time, and attempted to speak once more.

“Boss, it’s Miller. What the hell is going on here?”

This new kind of technology... something he still needs to get familiar with - he’s quick to adopt new equipment, though a “mobile phone” was something strangely new for him - when he has received the call for Eren, he took a while to answer. What with the gimmick called “touch screen” and other hindrances such as the battery dying in a few hours, he really needs to get used to it. 

When he picked up, he bluntly spoke to Eren - but the kid is quick to trigger his interest, and held him from speaking until he could hear the voice of “someone he knows”. Intrigue is a common feeling by now, everything in this brave new world is another level, everyone from his decade would say so. 

It took a while for whoever that’s speaking to actually throw some words at him - but when he listens to his codename - he recognizes the voice instantly, “—Kaz?!” His tone, for once (since he’d arrived here) has sound surprised, not entirely surprised - but enough to make someone wonder about it, as he rarely uses that kind of tone.  

He could listen to his breathe, and how he was as confused as him with the new gadget. He asks something he can’t quite answer generally, but he still tries to answer, in his way of course, “I’ll assume you’ve met the kid already, So you should know what’s next. You certainly kept me waiting, Kaz.”

“We’ve got many things to do now... Kid has lent me a hand several times since I arrived, so he’s trustworthy. 

...We’re starting from the bottom - from the ashes. This is nothing compared to our place back in our world, but we’ll manage, as we always did.”

If he's being entirely honest - Industrial district makes Boss feel uneasy, a weird feeling clinging upon his mind like cancer.  It has nothing to do with the general fears which plague usual visitors - or the ominous and ever-present influence of anyone with shadowy intents, inspecting every nook and cranny of the site, nor is it due to the sinister or macabre feel of everyday machines warped and twisted into something far more obscene. 

Certainly it is something far more personal than all of that. It is the the way the air feels artificial in his mouth and lungs, like a bad smoke. And the constant hum of a million machines making it impossible to think, couldn’t even brew a thought properly without being bothered by some annoying engines. He has been told by many that this place quite the dangerous place if you don’t know what you’re doing. But anyway, he’ll take what he can get here, despite how awful things seem. 

No doubt this place is meant to intimidate, and there are some security guards within the perimeter of a building. He’s about to raise a brow at it, curiosity piking.  A basic layout from the outside, so from here, it was a simple matter of directions. It’s simple enough to track down the guard’s movements, virtually useless if they keep walking the same path over and over. It’s almost as if they’re not even trying. He should ready himself for action.

But there’s something that catches his fancy as he diverts his gaze from the building. There’s someone, fancy-suited, silent on his approach - already noticed Boss’ presence. The silhouette approaches, and he’s cautious. Taking a hold of his gun, he waits a few seconds to realize it’s a familiar face, in a sense.