43. Merlin. Far From Home
“Change clothes.”
"Take it."
"wallet."
"Take it."
"Where is the personal sanitary ware?"
"Take it, too."
"Then will I give you the lucky charm?"
"Don't be stupid, I'm a wizard, I don't need that thing."
"I think you'd better bring it with you."
""
At Merlin's house, as the evening approached, Eric was helping Merlin check out what he had brought on this long trip. Although Merlin often traveled on business trips due to work reasons, this time was different.
What he is going to this time is not a place that can make people feel at ease.
Eric and Merlin have lived together for more than 6 years. For nearly 7 years, Merlin has watched the child grow up with his own eyes and is almost adult. Eric has also witnessed Merlin from a rookie agent to a current supervisor.
The relationship between the two of them is very special.
In name, they are guardians and wards, but in fact they are more like between brothers and younger brothers. During the years when the two were strong, they took care of each other, kept secrets from each other, and encouraged each other to live their lives.
They have no blood relationship, but over time, there are considerable feelings between them.
In the living room, Eric was nagging and giving Merlin a headache. He had never noticed before that the boy adopted by him was actually such a mother-in-law and mother.
He looked at the high school student who was about to go to college in front of him, and he said:
"When I come back, you'll almost get an admission letter. Hopefully that's good news."
“Do you still think it’s bad news?”
Eric asked:
"Have I disappointed you in learning this?"
"Hey, what's going on with this proud tone?"
Merlin knocked Eric in the head and said:
"I was also a good student back then. Although I had never been to college, I had the opportunity to live your life. How to say, my thoughts and opinions are not important, just don't let yourself down."
“I have a plan for my life.”
Eric helped Merlin pull the trolley case, he said:
"I know very well what I want to do, but you, I think you are going with the flow and spending day by day."
"Who said? I'm very busy every day, okay?"
Merlin took the trolley case and he said to Eric:
"What do you kid know? I do a very noble job. I don't want to see an empty house and a report of a missing person when I come back."
Speaking of this, Merlin stopped and he said to Eric:
"I mean, about Wakanda, I know you've never given up looking for it. But you're almost adult, and there are things you should have your own judgment."
He said:
"About your father, your bloodline, and that mysterious country. This is a choice, Eric, it will determine your future life. I have had a similar choice. I am a veteran. The advice I can give you is, don't be so anxious first, and think about what you want?"
"Is it a normal and peaceful life, or to plunge into a world that you don't understand at all."
"What's wrong with you today?"
Eric sent Merlin to the doorstep with a strange look on his face. The young man who had begun to get rid of his youth said:
"Just go on a business trip, why does it feel like I'm entrusting my funeral? I've said that I have a plan for my life. Merlin, don't participate in it. At least I won't take any risky actions before graduating from college."
"That's good."
Merlin glanced at Eric, and pointed to the sofa in the living room:
"Then put that tube back where it should be. Do you think your little thoughts can be hidden from me? I am a secret agent at least."
Eric's expression changed a little, Merlin looked at the watch's time, and he said to Eric:
"I have to go now."
"No matter what you want to do, wait for me to come back. OK?"
"Um."
Eric was silent for a moment, then nodded.
He watched Meilin ride onto the classic red sports car at the door and drove out of the block by his colleagues.
The 17-year-old man closed the door, walked to the sofa and took something out from under the sofa.
That was the biggest secret of Eric's young life.
That is the liquid vibrator that has been hidden for almost 7 years.
This thing should have been placed in Eric's "treasure land", but now it was taken out by him. Obviously, Eric seemed to be planning to do something with it.
Maybe it was a bait, maybe it was because he was ready to go to Africa alone while Merlin was on a business trip, the mysterious hometown that belonged to him. Maybe it was just a moment of impulse, maybe it was tired of the years of waiting. In short, what Merlin said tonight was not groundless, and he discovered Eric's actions.
He gave his own opinions.
It is no longer a persuasion between adults and children, but a discussion between adults and adults.
Eric believed that if he insisted on taking risks, Merlin would not stop him. The person who trusted him in a cold manner would probably choose to leave his responsibilities and go to Africa with him.
But that's not what Eric wants to see.
He knew the crisis full of this adventure, and he did not want another person he cared for was also pulled into it.
Merlin has had enough trouble.
As a family member and friend, he shouldn't have caused more trouble to Merlin.
Under the not-so-bright light in the living room, the liquid vibrant gold shone with a blue light in the glass tube in Eric's hand. He looked at the glass jar, and in the reflection of the glass, he saw his face and his hesitant eyes clearly.
A few seconds later, the young man sighed, putting the vibrator in a black pocket and wrapping it around several times with tape. In the darkness, he carried the vibrator into the direction of the St. Agnes Orphanage.
Three years ago, when he was in high school, he no longer lived there, but it was still a place where he hid secrets.
In the dark wind, Eric put his black hood on his head and said to himself:
"Okay OK. It's not yet."
"Wakanda, father"
"Please wait."-
"Oh, the problem of adolescence is indeed troublesome."
Sitting on the galloping Lora's side seat, Merlin rubbed his forehead with some headaches, and he complained to Colson who was driving:
"Young people of our era don't have these problems. Can you not wear sunglasses when you drive at night?"
Merlin looked at the sunglasses on Colson's face and looked at the road with dim street lights around him, saying:
“It makes me feel insecure.”
"Uh, sir. You gave me these sunglasses."
Colson said:
"You should know that it allows me to see the road clearly at night, right?"
"I know."
Merlin waved his hand a little annoyed, leaning against his seat and whispered:
"But it's just insecure"
Merlin's complaint made Colson shrugge, who obediently took off his sunglasses and turned on the headlights, making the road in front of Merlin's eyes clear, even a little clear and dazzling.
"Colson, you said, why do people have secrets? Why do people hide secrets and not see them by others? The secrets are followed by doubts, and doubts will destroy precious friendships and cause suspicion and confusion."
"You said, how great it would be if there were no secrets in this world."
Merlin no longer looked at the road in front of him. He raised his head and looked at the dark sky. He said with emotion:
"I began to hate the secrets that enveloped me, and those who kept them."
"Oh, for our profession, sir, you're a dangerous idea."
Colson seemed to feel the depression and irritability in Merlin's heart. He thought about it and replied:
"We are agents, and it is our job to investigate secrets."
"All right."
Merlin nodded, and after a few seconds, he suddenly said to Colson:
"Phil, I learned a secret, a secret about the top leaders of SHIELD. A dangerous secret that is closely related to you, me, Melinda, and everyone."
"oh?"
Agent Colson subconsciously turned his head and looked at his commander. His face was full of curiosity and exploration.
Merlin didn't even look at him, but he felt Colson's curiosity. The corners of his mouth twitched, and a strange smile appeared. He slowly said to Colson:
"But unfortunately, I can't tell you. Because your confidentiality level is not enough."
"oh."
Colson refocused his attention on the steering wheel and the road in front of him with expressionless expression. Obviously, this was a slightly bad joke.
His mood also became bad.
"Look"
Merlin noticed the change in Colson's mood. In the galloping darkness, he smiled strangely, and said:
"These secrets that can only be hidden in the heart are such an annoying thing."
In the next ten minutes, the two of them did not speak again.
Colson sent Merlin to a remote small airport, where a postal plane inside S.H.E.L.D. was waiting for him. Because Merlin was on a special mission this time, his whereabouts were completely confidential.
By the time the Ministry of Defense discovered that Merlin had disappeared, he was already in distant Central Asia.
Just as Merlin opened Lora's trunk and took out his trolley case, he suddenly reached out and pressed Colson's shoulder, and he whispered in Colson's ear:
"Be careful when you start working now."
"Um?"
Colson looked at his commander in confusion, Merlin shook his head at him, and he said:
"Don't trust any strangers"
Merlin looked into Colson's eyes and said seriously:
"It's enough to believe in yourself."
"Sir, is something wrong?"
Colson asked back, but Merlin didn't answer. He reached out and patted Colson on the shoulder, like saying goodbye. In the dark night, Merlin pulled the trolley case and walked towards the plane in front of him. He whispered without looking back:
"Stop asking."
"Your level of confidentiality is not enough."
A few minutes later, the ready-made postal plane, carrying Merlin, a unique passenger, rushed into the dark night sky with the whistling sound.
In the darkness at the edge of the airport, Colson put on his sunglasses again. He watched the plane disappear into the night sky. He shook his head, restarted his car and returned to his place where he lived.
Colson could feel that what Merlin said was not groundless.
Something must have happened.
Perhaps, the reason why Chief Merlin left this time was not that simple.
Maybe, should he find a way to investigate?
Merlin didn't know what Colson was thinking. After the plane took off, he quickly entered a long-lost sleep.
He will follow the plane and land in Paris after several hours of flight.
Then transfer there, cross half of Europe, and land in Dubai.
Finally, from that desert city, through the Arab world with other means of transportation, enter Asia, and finally reach your destination.
This is not a journey that can make people feel comfortable. It is not a journey that can make people feel comfortable across most of the world to a turbulent country, looking for some secret clues. This kind of crazy life can only be experienced by the agents walking on the darkness and the tip of the knife.
Their lives are so "exciting".
Three days later, Merlin was sitting in an old bus full of people and shaking endlessly.
His dress at this time is no longer the same as the suit he had never turned gray for thousands of years, but was replaced by a very ordinary dress. The half-old and half-new suit was paired with a somewhat worn handbag given to him by Harry, a pair of frameless glasses, and messy hair.
It looks no different from those foreigners who make a living in the Afghanistan region.
Amid the sounds of exotic and life around him, Merlin closed his eyes and leaned against a seat full of sweat-smelling. He was playing with a badge in his hand, and his fingers felt the marks of ten rings on the badge.
After a moment, he looked out the window.
On both sides of the street are rows of two-story shops, and you can see the mosques located in the street from afar. Wherever he sees, several lonely tall buildings stand out in this slightly backward city.
Most of the houses are white, with trees rarely seen on the streets, and the sky above the head is very clear, at least much bluer than the sky in New York.
The sun is very bright, and at this point, there are few people on the streets. The pedestrians walk in the shadows of buildings to hide from the sun. Some wear blue vests, some wear white robes. The women on the street are all wearing depressing black robes, covering their faces and revealing their eyes.
They are in a hurry and live their own ordinary life on these ordinary days.
There are quite a few cars on this street, but there is no feeling of traffic that Merlin has become accustomed to, and even makes Merlin feel a sense of tranquility. In the bustling hustle and bustle of this strange place, this place makes Merlin feel strange.
This is Kandaha
Chapter completed!