MF1.0 - 77 - Merlin

‘If I tell you not to come tonight, you’ll ignore me, won’t you?’ Stef stared longingly at the last bite of cookie, then chewed on it. ‘I’m a hacker, I’m supposed to ignore narcs.’ ‘The combat recruits know what they are in for, and the rest of my recruits have a lot more field experience. The Solstice always drop blackout bombs, which limits our movements, and the mirror’s path is erratic. And that’s not even taking the leech into account.’ ‘He’s the big unknown isn’t he? And the fact that he’s supposedly doing this out of love makes it even more chaotic.’ ‘How so?’ She shrugged. ‘Love is just another form of insanity, isn’t it?’ He stared at her for a long moment, then shook his head. ‘No, it’s really not.’ Another shrug. ‘The Solstice will not be looking to hurt us tonight, if any recruits get in their path, they will kill them. They will not listen to reason, to lies or worry about torture first. They will take the quickest action in order to ensure them every chance to get the mirror.’ She gave a salute. ’Yeah, I hear what you’re saying.’ ‘Do you realise this is an order?’ ‘Still not very good at taking those.’ He stared at her. ‘And if you wish to have a lifespan long enough to learn the art, then you will listen to me.’ ‘Like I said, I’m a problematic pet. I never get to see things through to the end - just this once, please?’ ‘You will get to see it through, from the reports and on the screens, with the interested tech recruits.’ She pouted. ‘If you insist.’ He nodded, he raised his head and looked into thin air for a moment. ‘Time to head back.’ He shifted them back to the Agency and they parted ways. She managed to avoid Taylor for the rest of the morning, saw him once briefly at lunch time, but he didn’t follow when she ran away, then took refuge with Frankie in the tech recruits’ common room. It was a pleasant mess - the arguments about the games on the giant screen were an friendly background noise, and the couches were comfortable, even if there were plushies hidden behind the pillow. A pair of goggles peeked at her over the top of the screen. ‘Whatcha doin’?’ She shrugged. ‘Just looking at the data again. Seeing if there’s anything I missed.’ ‘Even if you did, we found it. Can you see the monster on that?’ ‘No, he’s hiding in the blackout zones.’ He flopped down onto the couch beside her. ‘Maid Marian’s been out looking for him, she’s good at that. Finding monsters, I mean. She says it’s natural.’ She stared at the slight tech recruit for a moment, then slowly closed Frankie’s lid. ‘A week ago I wouldn’t have believed that I was asking this but…the real Maid Marian?’ He giggled. ‘No, I mean Magnolia.’ ‘I haven’t met her yet.’ ‘She wouldn’t like you, you’re too techy.’ She frowned. ‘O…k…’ ‘She’s the goddess of the combat recruits.’ She gave him a quizzical look. ‘Um, not a real one, just like one though, she’s amazing.’ Humans. Relationships. Right, they like to have those. ‘So she’s your girlfriend?’ He giggled and shook his head. ‘Nupe. Magnolia’s “nobody’s woman” - she’s too busy to have a boyfriend. And I’m not her kind anyway, maybe when I achieve my destiny and prove myself.’ ‘No fate,’ she mumbled. ‘I don’t believe in destiny.’ He lifted his goggles up onto his forehead. ‘Not everyone has one, so not everyone has to believe in them. I have to believe in mine though, my future was determined by my past.’ She drummed her fingers on Frankie. ‘So what’s your fate?’ It was his turn to give her a confused look. ‘You do know my name, right, squishy?’ She thought back to her bout of insomnia in the elevator. ‘It’s Merlin, right?’ Oh crap. He nodded and looked at her expectantly. ‘You’re…I…no.’ He nodded again. ‘Really?’ Another nod. ‘You don’t look anything like Sam Neill.’ He giggled. ‘That, squishy, is cause I’m the real one!’ Stupid m-word. Careful, he might be telepathic. Shut up you. ‘So your destiny is…what, king-maker?’ ‘No one needs kings anymore, they lose popularity contests. I don’t know my purpose, it will become clear once I embody my name once again.’ ‘So are you stuck here tonight, or what?’ He tilted his head to an extreme angle. ‘That’s a strange question, squishy, you ask it like I actually leave the fortress.’ She looked around. ‘You…don’t?’ ‘Why would I? I have everything I need here.’ She shrugged. ‘Guess I can’t blame you, it’s not like I would have ever left my apartment if I didn’t need to go for groceries or computer bits. It’s great to have a place you’re comfortable you’re in.’ ‘Anyways, being “stuck” here isn’t a bad thing, we still get to be useful, someone needs to read the real-time data and do surveillance.’ ‘Can I help with that?’ ‘You’ll have to ask Jonesy, but I don’t see why not. Want to go ask him?’ She shook her head. ‘In a few, I need to wiki some stuff first.’ He nodded and wandered off. Five confusing minutes on Wikipedia later, she turned off her laptop and walked toward Jones’ lab. ‘Is he seriously Merlin?’ she asked as she approached his desk. Jones’ screen immediately went blank. ‘Sorry, didn’t interrupt something important, or,’ walk in on you, ‘looking at pr0n did I?’ The deadpan look on his face told her that again she’d said something aloud that was supposed to stay in the confines of her brain. ‘Totally didn’t mean to say that.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Unlike you, Recruit, I do not have a ten gigabyte folder dedicated to pornography.’ She flushed red. ‘It’s not really for porn, it’s where I keep my SQL databases…’ ‘All of it?’ ‘Yes. The mating habits of humans really don’t interest me.’ He shook his head. ‘Are you sure you’re entirely human?’ ‘Is he really Merlin?’ she asked again. ‘I kind of need to know these things so I know where to draw the line between fantasy and reality. The m-word I’m getting a hold of, and the fact we’ve got our own little hobs, and the fact this building is a refrigerator TARDIS, and…’ She shook her head. ‘But then you get random factors like Dorian Gray, and I don’t know if or when people are joking about stuff.’ ‘Merlin’s story is not mine to tell, just as I would not go around telling recruits all of your secrets. Everyone has things they wish to keep to themselves, and share when they wish.’ ‘Is he?’ ‘He is what he is.’ He leaned back in his chair. ’The mission begins at seven tonight - can I expect you here?’ She nodded. ’I’ll do what I can.’