Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 43 1. Waiting Time

On September 1992, 9, the library of the Secret Service Academy affiliated to the Strategic Science Corps.

Merlin sat quietly on a table by the window, with an open book in front of him.

Although it always seemed strange to wear sunglasses to read in the library, considering Merlin's special situation, it was actually justifiable to dress like this.

Today is not a special day, and the way he spends today is no different from the past 6 months.

Get up early in the morning, eat breakfast, and start to participate in super-high-load physical training.

After having a lunch, they conducted special combat training under the guidance of several instructors.

The training in the evening is the easiest, with 1 hour of shooting training, 30 minutes of weapon disassembly and maintenance exercises, 1 hour of tracking and anti-tracking courses, and then there is an optional field survival knowledge course.

It is now 9 o'clock in the evening, a rare free time of the day, and in another 2 hours, the lights of the entire academy will be turned off on time.

2 hours should be enough to finish reading the book in front of him.

Merlin put his left hand on the table, flipped the pages of the book in front of him with his right hand, and leaned on the chair naturally.It can be seen that he is reading this book very seriously.

Compared with him six months ago, the current Merlin is less liberal and more calm.

This is a change brought about by the addition of a lot of knowledge. During these six months, he is not only receiving the super soldier training that Ms. Carter formulated for him, but also learning how to become an excellent field agent.So far, his learning progress is satisfactory.

Twenty-two minutes later, after Merlin finished reading the book in front of him, he stretched and stood up.

Putting the latest Playboy magazine back on the shelf, he picked out a copy of "The Art of Disguise" and sat back at the table.

"Relax time is over."

Merlin moved his ten fingers, and he said softly:

"Let's start studying."

Turning to the first page, behind the sunglasses, the pupils of Merlin's eyes changed, the state of spiritual vision was activated, and the perception of darkness was activated.

With the blessing of such keen senses, his thinking also becomes active, which allows him to receive information from the outside world more efficiently and make him learn more efficiently.

But unfortunately, before Merlin experienced the joy of learning, the watch on his left wrist vibrated slightly.

This made Merlin frown. He stood up, walked to the front of the library, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed a number.After a while, Fury's deep voice sounded:

"Merlin, how is campus life?"

"I'd love to say I love it here."

Merlin leaned against the wall, he sighed, and said softly:

"But actually, it sucks."

"I train with a group of children who yearn for the life of an agent all day long, but they have never experienced the hail of bullets. In order not to let their optimism and childishness infect me, I even have to hide in the library and read at night. I hope Your call will get me out of here... My dear Fury, will this humble wish of mine come true?"

"That's it."

Fury said ambiguously:

"I've got a mission now to go to Europe and find someone. Your keen senses will help a lot, but I'm not sure if you're ready."

"I heard they sent you my report card?"

Merlin suddenly asked an irrelevant question. On the other end of the phone, Fury looked at the stack of transcripts on the desk and said:

"Indeed, it's all in my hands. But seriously, in the spy business, grades don't mean anything."

"Oh?"

Merlin snorted:

"Well, if 9 S's and 2 A+'s aren't enough, let's talk about what happened 6 months ago."

"Stop!"

Fury said slowly:

"There was an element of luck in defeating the Winter Soldier, and you obviously concealed a lot of things. At least I know that you were definitely not the only one who was in that factory that day...Merlin, you still don't understand what I mean."

"Whether I understand or not depends on what you want me to understand."

Merlin calmly retorted:

"In your heart, what qualities do I still lack?"

"You still lack more, but those can be accumulated slowly through time."

Fury said bluntly:

"My biggest uncertainty is whether you are ready, whether you have made up your mind."

"When you faced the Winter Soldier, you were very brave and fearless. That's because if you were not brave, you would probably die. You had no choice. But now the situation is that maybe only one order is needed, and your hands will Stained with blood."

"Every bullet you shoot has the potential to hit someone else. Every decision you make may cause you to regret for life. And the most important thing is, what kind of person you are in your heart, you are better than me Clearer."

Fury's tone became more cautious, and he asked:

"Are you sure, are you ready?"

"I'm sure."

Merlin's tone became a little colder, and he said:

"Hope I don't have to prove it to you in all sorts of boring ways, whatever your decision is, I'll be patient...until you think I can."

"Very good, come to check in tomorrow morning, and we will leave at midnight the day after tomorrow."

Fury said bluntly:

"This time there is a new teammate with us, and you will see him then."

"it is good."

Merlin nodded and was about to hang up the phone. He felt very relaxed now, and he couldn't wait to leave the Secret Service Academy.

And at this moment, Fury said another important thing:

"The new identity will be delivered to your dormitory tomorrow morning, and a letter from the Social Security Bureau has also been sent to May Riley. If there is no accident, you can go to Queens to meet her tomorrow. But you'd better be here Before meeting, remember your new identity and control your emotions so as not to reveal your secrets."

"..."

Hearing Fury's words, Merlin was at a loss for words for a while.After several seconds, he said sincerely:

"Thank you for your help, Fury."

"Don't thank me in a hurry, there is one more thing."

Fury's tone became a little impatient, and he said:

"The kid you brought back, Eric Stevenson. During the time you were training, he'd rotated through three homestays, but he couldn't stay a month in any of them. They even called When it comes to my wife... that kid is not very willing to communicate with us, he asks you to be his guardian, he only trusts you."

"I'm putting him in St. Agnes Orphanage right now, there's a school there that will take him through primary school, and it's very close to your new house. I mean, after dinner with your cousin tomorrow , Remember to take that child back."

After listening to Fury, Merlin responded:

"Two questions, first, can you even handle a child? Second, when will I have a house?"

"Two answers."

Fury said:

"Number one, I have my own things to do, and my time is precious, so you make the trouble yourself."

"Second, that house is not for you to live in, but for work. Remember the task I gave you? After returning from Europe this time, you will start from the messiest Hell's Kitchen in New York... .As the first pilot of a heterogeneous monitoring project, I have also found the partner you need, are there any problems now?"

"Nothing."

Merlin replied, and Fury's voice followed:

"See you tomorrow morning, Agent Merlin, then."

"Well, good night, Chief Fury."

-------------

Fury hung up the phone, and in his office, his boss, Alexander Pierce, sat in on the conversation between Fury and Merlin.

After the call ended, Pierce, wearing a black suit, played with a cigar in his hand. He sat on the sofa, pondered for a few minutes, and then said:

"Are you sure, is this Merlin suitable to join us?"

Facing the question from his boss, Fury said frankly:

"He is still very young, and the past has proved that Merlin can withstand pressure, and he has strong plasticity. Besides, although Ms. Carter has retired, Merlin is the last person she recruited before she retired... "

"I understand your idea."

Pierce narrowed his eyes, and the former right-hand man of Ms. Carter said helplessly:

"As long as Chief Carter's influence is still there, Merlin's entry into the Strategic Science Corps is a certainty. But I always feel that this young man is a little bit jumpy, and he is a little swollen. He is with you, me, and even in this institution. Everyone else, is different. He lacks a...well, a sense of purpose! Don't you think?"

"It's hard to say, Pierce."

With his hands on the table, Fury said to his boss and friend Pierce:

"You have also read Merlin's dossier. If I had experienced the same thing as him, I would also be eager for true freedom."

"From my contact with him, Merlin lives very depressed every day. He is disguising himself every day and protecting his secrets every day... For us, disguising is a skill, for him , Pretending was his life."

"From this point of view, he is really suitable for the job of an agent. The most important thing is that the knowledge and power he has about aliens is equivalent to making up for us who are currently seeking transformation. Big whiteboard."

"He may not be suitable, but he's important, he's valuable."

Fury said in a serious tone:

"Things of value should be used wisely. This is what you taught me, Pierce."

"Well, what you said makes sense."

Pierce nodded slowly, and he said to Fury:

"I will keep an eye on him, Fury. But he has to be brought by you to reassure me. You are a man of true faith. I hope you can also turn that young man with potential and strength into a A man of faith... I hope you don't let your guard down!"

"Merlin himself said that if he can't hold on to his will, he will truly fall into the darkness. Even with the power he possesses now, once he falls into the darkness, he will cause damage, far surpassing ordinary criminals. Even It's going to be a disaster."

Pierce lit his cigar, and he warned Fury:

"I don't want the next time I come here to hunt him down or execute him."

"I was worried about that too, so I tied him with two ropes."

Fury looked at the two photos on the table in front of him, which were May Riley and Eric Stevenson.He said softly:

"One represents Merlin's longing for family affection, and the other represents his gratitude. To fight against the darkness in your heart, you must hold the light in your heart. I believe that with these two people by Merlin's side, he will let him go. Steadier and firmer."

"You're right, Pierce, everyone needs faith, if Merlin doesn't have one, then we'll find him one!"

"Well, clever technique."

Pierce gave a compliment. The Fury in front of him was once his subordinate on the Vietnam War battlefield. Fury was an excellent and brave soldier. Now, Fury has become an excellent secret service director.

It's a pity that he has to leave the place where he has worked for more than 20 years.

Last month, after Ms. Peggy Carter, who founded the Strategic Science Corps, officially retired, the staff she formed also officially disbanded.Under Ms. Carter's recommendation, Pierce will join the recently established World Security Council, which is also a reward for Pierce's 20 years of hard work.

As for Nick Fury, he will remain in the agency to succeed Pierce.

However, the Strategic Science Corps will be changed in the near future and become a new organization.

So Fury likely won't be able to jump into command of the new organization right away.The leaders of institutions such as the Strategic Science Corps are only produced after some political games.

"I got it from some old friends, Fury."

Before leaving, Pierce lowered his voice and said to Nick Fury:

"The Strategic Science Corps will be split up. The CIA and NSA will split up some of our projects, but they will also transfer some of the projects to us. The newly split and merged organization is called Strategic Dangerous Intervention and Espionage Logistics Directorat (Strategic, Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorat)."

"Shet! What a bad name!"

When Fury heard the news, he burst into a foul language.

And Pierce's bad news hasn't finished yet, he put his hand on Fury's shoulder, and said to Fury:

"There is even worse news. Listen to me. I found out that the new director is likely to be Kohler."

"Kohler? Incompetent Kohler?"

Fury's eyes widened, and he said to Pierce in disbelief:

"The third-rate agent Kohler who almost turned the cold war into a hot war because of the wrong message delivered more than ten years ago? Are those members of Congress crazy? How could they hand over such an important institution to Kohler to manage? They finally got down Are you determined to destroy the Strategic Science Corps?"

"I also find it incredible."

A hint of doubt flashed through Pierce's narrowed eyes, and he said to Fury:

"I think there must be other organizations behind this. The CIA, the National Security Agency, and even the Secret Service have been coveting the resources in our hands for a long time. If they can't keep them all this time, they will take advantage of the end of the Cold War. Swallow us all in one go. But take it easy, Fury, I'm figuring it out, it's going to take time, don't pay too much attention to Khloe, he's just a nobody pushed by those guys."

"Hear me out..."

Pierce patted Fury on the shoulder and taught his subordinates the opportunity:

"Don't conflict with Kohler for a while, it's easy to fool that incompetent person. Before I find a way, you have to protect our most elite and core force in the dark, protect those excellent agents, and collect more power, like a seed like Merlin."

"For us, people! Talent! is the most important thing."

"The tougher the times, the more we have to work together like before. When the opportunity comes..."

Pierce said in a sharp tone:

"Once we took a chance, what those bastards took from us..."

"I'll make them pay back double!"

(End of this chapter)