Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - The Novel

Rigged

Relief was in the air during the trip back to Mother Base. The mission was now complete and Chico and Paz were finally free from the torture of the Naval Base's Prison Camp. The young child soldier crawled to Paz and examined her body. He couldn't stop blaming himself for what he put her through. His eyes were then drawn to a large section of blood that seeped through her uniform and nervously checked the other side of it. Chico noticed something odd about Paz. To his horror, he found a stitched up v-shaped cut in abdomen.

"Snake..." Chico called. "Snake!"

The veteran mercenary turned around and immediately became cautious of Paz's injury.

"Medic!" Snake called.

He quickly moved Chico away from Paz as the Medic inspected Paz's stomach. It didn't take long for them to both come to the same conclusion.

"She's rigged!" Snake concluded. "Damn it! We were set up!

"We got to get it out," the Medic said as he reached for his tools. "No time for anesthetic. We have to open her now."

Chico worriedly glanced Snake; his face becoming darker each passing second.

"Hold her down," Snake ordered Chico. "HOLD HER DOWN!"

The two placed their arms around Paz and prepared for what was to come. Soon, the Medic cut the threads that held her wound shut and slowly opened it, slightly revealing more wires in her. He swiftly cut the remaining stitches and put his tools away.

"Paz..." Chico whimpered.

The medic then grabbed both sides of Paz's open wound and stretched it open even further, causing the girl immense pain.

"Keep her gut in!" the Medic instructed Chico.

Chico fought to keep Paz's entrails in her as Snake forcibly kept the girl in place. The medic searched for the bomb in Paz, but was unable to find anything. With no other choice, the medic dug even deeper into Paz's stomach causing her to scream even louder as she tried to escape the pain. After searching for what seemed like forever, the Medic arms retracted from Paz's abdomen and presented a small rectangular device to his boss.

Snake accepted the device and, without a second thought, opened one of the helicopter doors and threw it towards the sea. The Medic then inspected Paz to see how the immediate surgery affected her.

"Breathing stable. No active bleeding. She's clean. I'm closing her up," the Medic reported.

Snake nodded his head and then heard his radio sound off.

"Boss, can you hear me?" Huey asked.

"What's up, Huey?" Snake confirmed.

"Our guests are right on time.Document destruction and hangar decontamination are complete. AFVs have been stowed away. And ZEKE's on the sea floor along with the nuke. Everyone's got their stories straight. The guided tour will be wrapped up by the time you get home."

"Make me proud."

"By the time they leave, I'll have the IAEA praising us as the poster boys for world peace," Huey proudly assured him. "Out."