in the quiet loop. (solid snake x reader)

02 - behind you.

You stood still. Your heart was slamming against your ribs, but you didn't move.

"You are required by law to comply. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney-"

You raised your hands slowly, keeping your voice steady. "There's been a mistake."

"Don't," he cut in. "Don't play innocent. We know about the override. We've got half a dozen analysts combing your session history, and the loop you left behind isn't as clever as you thought."

You didn't reply. A second agent moved, taking your arm like you were already gone. You felt your bag slide off your shoulder as someone else grabbed it. Another read your ID off the clipped badge still hanging from your lanyard. They pulled your wrists behind your bag, feeling the cold steel bit deliberately.

They were going to drag you through every closed-door hearing they could schedule, press you in front of a committee, and squeeze everything you knew about Snake and Hal, and paint you as a willing accomplice in a terrorist cover-up.

The cuffs cut cold against your wrists as they guided you toward the waiting van. With one hand on your arm, the other hovering over their sidearm, the agent's grip was firm but unhurried. You weren't resisting. You were, in their eyes, already folded. A trophy waiting to be filed.

Then, a sound rippled through the air. It was high-pitched and deafening. An alarm, but not from the agency building. It was from across the street in a nearby office tower, like a fire system breach with sirens wailing. The noise sliced through the air, shrill and unexpected. Every head turned instinctively.

Then, gunfire came close.

Two shots, then three. Another agent fell back, his leg hit. Shouts echoed over comms. The entire escort perimeter collapsed into noise, ducking, drawing weapons, and scrambling for cover.

You didn't wait.

You twisted your shoulder forward, ducking under the agent's grip, and sprinted low behind the parked van. Your breath punched out of your chest with every step, heart pounding, and your hands still cuffed.

"Hey! SHE'S RUNNING-!"

But their lines were broken. The radio burst into static and shouting. They were scrambling for a threat they couldn't see, and you were no longer their priority target. You kept moving from one alley over, then two. Tires screeched behind you. In your peripheral vision, through the chaos of panicked agents and jerking weapons, you caught a figure in one of the helicopters.

He wore a civilian jacket and faded jeans. A sniper rifle slung across his shoulder, already raised to his cheek. Beneath the shadow of his cap, his expression was calm, focused, and lethal.

Solid Snake.

You didn't need more than a second. He didn't wane, but he looked right at you and nodded.

Another shot cracked. A second agent went down mid-sprint. You tore across the lot, ducking behind vehicles, every step carried by instinct and adrenaline. Behind you, more shots rang out, clearing a path one body at t time. Then, you heard the thundering beat of a helicopter's blades.

You turned a corner and saw it descending hard, with black frame cutting through the dusk like a blade. Dust whipped in spirals as the headlights from the street tried to pierce through the chaos but couldn't reach you. The side door slid open mid-hover.

"Go!" Hal's voice, over the headset, panicked but steady, crackled from inside.

You pushed harder, feeling your lungs burn, wrists still cuffed behind your back, but you didn't slow. you reached the landing gear, jumped, and felt arms grab you, yanking you up into the cabin. Inside, Snake pulled the door shut just as rounds started cracking off the asphalt below.