[b]Title: Man of Conviction

Characters: Cheryl Mason, Isaac Zivaku, Samuel Fisher, Sarah Fisher, and three unnamed burglars.

Situation (Context): In the year 1991 (prior to the first game in the [i]Splinter Cell[/i] franchise), Isaac and Cheryl have a run in with the retired Navy SEAL in a tenuous situation. This takes place before "Gateway to Ruin" for Isaac and after "Edge and Flight" for both Interferences.[/b]


It was a dark, but not all that stormy night. This was good, because they really were both sick of rain in general.

Beaming into a world behind a two-story sub-urban house in the middle of the night was, in hindsight, not really one of their smartest maneuvers, yes. But it wasn't like they knew what the world would be like beforehand.

Isaac had his Collector assault rifle on his back, but no weapons out. His wings were tucked in under his shirt, his eyes crimson. That was enough to show that the world was indeed a powered one. He heard some commotion near the front, but didn't move toward it, not wanting to wake anyone in the streets. Instead, he looked to a pipe nearby, one that could presumably be used to climb up to a higher window. He looked to his companion.

"Want to try out our training, Cher? Ladies first."

Cheryl Mason rolled her eyes. She had heard of what happened in Sinnoh from Isaac, yes, and she did respect him more for that, but the only reason she was agreeing to break into a random house was the rather shady figures they saw going inside as well. Protection, not theft. "Alright, but I get free reign to kick you, then." Before she could grab the pipe, he apparently made his reaction to the message, taking the length before her and putting one foot on the side of the house, proceeding to climb with a grumble.

"I didn't even mean to look, though I still say it wasn't bad."

"Just climb, demon," she retaliated, taking it after he was up a sizable length. "And try not to bring too much attention to the eye thing; we have enough getting beaten up lately."

The way up was rather quiet, considering the night. He thought he could hear another person going inside again. Still, he focused more on climbing than whatever was inside.

Cheryl, on the other hand, took a glance in through the window on the second floor once they had reached it, grabbing the one to the right of the pipe while Isaac had taken the one on the left, gripping the edge carefully before slowly sliding it up and open.

The upper floor consisted of a hallway leading to three rooms, one of which they had approached, an entertainment room. A pair of french doors led off to the entertainment room, which she surveyed along with the demon. It had two couches, with one to the left and another near the back wall. A small cabinet between them held a record player/VCR combination and a television. A framed newspaper with an article showing an American flag was beside the window on the back wall. The carpet was in a checkered pattern. To the left of the french doors from their angle, there was a small table and another padded chair. The entire room seemed a little messy, with a wine bottle resting in the middle of the carpet, and a noodle bowl, bag of chips, and beer bottle all resting on the table. A potted plant rested near the same table, a box of tissues on its side underneath the same table. One of the couches looked recently slept in, with a blanket draped over the seat in an untidy manner.

There was a staircase leading down into the first floor that was blocked by a child safety gate, a wooden panel floor at the bottom of the staircase. The room at the far end from them seemed to be a bathroom, the half-open door showing a toilet within. A white door behind some glass doors was also present and visible from this angle, perhaps the child's room.

Cheryl frowned, hearing a commotion inside, the men now definitely up to no good. She and Isaac nodded to one another and, with him raising the window as well, slipped into the room as silently as possible, crouching low.

The noise was closer from the intruders, barely audible as they walked around in the hallway.

"Are you kidding me, man?" one asked.

"Come on, we didn't have enough time before, right?" a second responded, coming into view. He had shaved brown hair, a small mustache, and light skin, and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Very subtle indeed.

"Ugh, whatever," a third grunted, as the two Interferences crept to the side, behind one of the couches, getting a better look. They winced as they heard the sound of breaking glass, but watched nonetheless. The one who had talked third spoke. He was fair of skin and had a baseball cap on. "Wha'd you got, man? You got anything good?"

The other robber pulled his elbow out of the glass of the window he had broken, annoyed as he dropped a baseball on the ground. "This place is [i]sh**[/i]."

A shrug. "You picked it, a**hole. You said we'd get a couple of thou' easy."

The angry one turned on him. "I heard there was medals and sh** we could fence in here! The lady who lives here is hot. Maybe we can wait for her to come home."

Isaac and Cheryl traded deadpan looks from their vantage point. Robbery apparently was not exactly a profession necessitating even the slightest bit of kindness in speech. Not exactly unexpected, but still depressing in a minor degree. They looked back as the other answered again as they each drew their weapons, Cheryl her handgun, Isaac his assault rifle, ready to take aim.

"Take 'er out and trade..." the disagreeing robber still grinned at the thought.

"Now you're talkin'!"

The other was coming out of the bathroom when they saw the newcomer approaching from the side, with his black hair and black T-shirt, apparently the owner of the place. According to Isaac's heart scan... Samuel Leo Fisher, retired from the "Navy SEALs", whatever they were. Something military, not a lot of time to check.

The one from the bathroom immediately noticed his mistake. "Sh**!" He charged, aiming a black handgun at Fisher, but was no match.

==========

Robber 2: I heard there was medals and shit we could fence in here! The lady who lives here is hot. Maybe we can wait for her to come home.

Robber 1: Take 'er out and trade...

Robber 2: Now you're talkin'!

Robber 3 (running out of bathroom on seeing Fisher): Shit!