AN: I apologize for the delay. I've had a super busy couple of weeks, and to top all that off, I got sick too. Hopefully, I'll be able to start actually updating this regularly. This is the first time that I've ever really written Harry, or Merlin, so I hope that I've done them justice. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!


They should've left the moment they knew the op was blown. Instead, Harry had stupidly let Eggsy convince him to keep going, despite knowing that there was some other intelligence agency there too, and an agency that they didn't know, nonetheless. It wasn't Statesman, and they definitely weren't CIA or FBI or any of those alphabet agencies, but they were definitely American, Merlin had been able to figure out that much. They had someone working for them who was as good with tech as Merlin was, and it was quite humorous to listen to the Scot grumble and swear as his encryptions were broken. It was a special kind of joy to see Merlin find out that he can in fact be beaten sometimes.

But this was just getting ridiculous. Harry was trying to avoid one of the Americans while getting back to Merlin at the same time, who was waiting on their jet. He'd given up on getting the terrorists and the dealers for now. It wasn't going to happen without Eggsy, and getting the boy back was at the very top of Harry's priority list, above anything else, no matter what. Besides, Roxy was supposed to be dealing with the rest of the terrorist group with Percival at the secondary location, and he'd only heard good things about that so far, so hopefully that part of the mission would be completed. It was his own fault if it wasn't. As Arthur, he was at the top of the agency, so he would take the blame for a failed mission, especially one that he was an active part of.

"Merlin, are Eggsy's glasses still transmitting?" he asked, hoping the man would say yes. If they were, even for just a little while longer, it could give them a major advantage when it came to getting him back.

"Sort of? They seem to have been damaged a bit, since now all I'm receiving is visual, not even audio or tracking, but I can't really see anythin'," Merlin replied. "It looks like he's in the back of some kind of truck, along with the American boy and a few of the dealers, but that's all I see. His vital readings are still strong, but he is definitely unconscious at the moment. The American appears to be too. I'm running him through our facial rec softwares, and all I'm getting is some kid named Angus MacGyver who works at a think tank in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Foundation, but that doesn't make much sense, now, does it? He graduated high school when he was barely sixteen, then spent two years at MIT before dropping out and joining the army, where he was an EOD tech. He was honorably discharged three years later."

Harry let out a sigh - well, really, it was a small exhale of breath, but that was as close to a sigh as Harry ever gave. "Keep searching, please. There must be something that can tell us who these Americans are."

"I think you'll get the chance to ask them yourself," Merlin quickly replied. "One of them is just about to round the corner to you."

"I suppose I will." Harry stood up straighter, straightened his tie, and rested the tip of his umbrella against the ground, looking every bit like the gentleman he was trained to be.

"Don't move!" the American shouted, his eyes blazing with a mix of rage and concern. "I'm a federal agent, and you're comin' with me," he said, slowly walking closer and closer.

"I suggest you leave those manacles where they are, attached to your tactical vest, otherwise I will not be going with you at all, I'm afraid," Harry replied calmly. The American's eyes widen slightly, but Harry beat him to responding. "Now I am perfectly willing to go with you willingly as of right now, because I myself have just as many questions for you as I'm sure you do for me, so something of a tête-à-tête could be quite beneficial for us both, don't you agree?" He gave the American his most disarming smile and began to slowly walk towards him, umbrella in hand. "I'm as much of a fan of guns as any cliche American, but yours really won't be necessary, so you might as well put it away so we can sooner get down to brass tax and discuss what our next step is going to be in retrieving our missing agents, yes?"

The American stared at him in awed confusion for a moment before finally replying, "you're lucky that the only thing I care about is gettin' my kid back, and shootin' your cocky ass just for the hell of it won't do that, so it really is your lucky day. Now move." He didn't put his gun down, but he did seem a bit more relaxed as Harry carefully walked in front of him, putting up no resistance at all, and using his umbrella as a walking stick.

"This man is Jack Dalton," Merlin said in his ear. "He's ex-army Delta, was MacGyver's EOD Overwatch in Afghanistan, spent time in the CIA, and now also apparently works for that same think tank in LA."

"So tell me," Harry started as he walked along at a gentle pace next to the American - Dalton, if that really was his name. "This Phoenix Foundation you work for, it can't really be just a think tank. Covert spy operation? Like Statesman?" he asked. If the Phoenix Foundation was an off the books spy organization, then perhaps they knew what Statesman really did, since they were basically the same thing.

Dalton abruptly turned and pushed Harry against the wall, his gun pressed up against Harry's chin. "I love me a good Kentucky bourbon, but I don't know what any o' that has to do with you knowing you we are," Dalton growled in his ear.

"I know you Americans are all rather brash, but I promise that I mean you no harm," Harry said, speaking as calmly as he ever did. "I actually wish to help you, since we both seem to have misplaced an agent, and I'm sure you want yours back as badly as I do, so if you'll kindly let me go, we can continue on and find out how to retrieve our missing boys."

Slowly, Dalton began to back down, slowly releasing his hold on Harry's collar and letting his gun fall. "Who are you, and what agency do you work for?" the man asked.

"My name is Harry Hart, and I am a Kingsman agent, based out of London but not affiliated with any government. We are an independent spy organization. Our cover is a tailor shop, but I assure you, we are just as well funded as your Phoenix Foundation, if not even more so," Harry replied with a small smile. He did so love the looks on people's faces when they found out what Kingsman really was.

"Riley, can you check that out please?" Dalton said, putting a finger up to his ear. Whoever he was talking to was probably their version of Merlin, but Harry doubted that anyone could truly be as good as the Scot.

"I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me," Harry said. "Our organization is covert enough that no one-"

"Thanks, Riles," Dalton said, cutting him off. "Yeah, she figured out pretty quickly that you're not a tailor shop." Dalton flashed a proud smile. "Somethin' about your financials and incoming signals and lots of gibberish that I won't even pretend to understand, but my girl knows, which is lucky for you, because that means your story checks out." Dalton slid his gun back into it's position in his thigh holster - what was with Americans and those? - and clapped Harry harshly on the back. "The name's Jack Dalton, but I'm basically the American James Bond, but with even better luck with the ladies." Dalton gave him a quick disarming smile, but it quickly faded back to a scowl, and started walking. Harry straightened his suit, then joined him. That was easy enough.

Harry and Dalton eventually made it out of the compound, and past all the bomb wreckage. Harry's glasses picked out the van in the woods before Harry himself even saw it. There was only one heat signature in it.

Dalton banged on the side of the van twice, then jumped in as soon as a young woman opened it. She certainly didn't dress anything like Roxy did, even when she wasn't on a mission, with her crop top and skinny jeans.

"Riles, meet Daniel Craig," Dalton gruffly said, gesturing to Harry. "Daniel Craig, meet Riley Davis, the best computer genius in the business." The young woman, Riley, rolled her eyes, but Harry could see her blush.

"Harry Hart, head of Kingsman, at your service, Miss Davis," Harry said with a slight bow.

"Wow," Riley said with a surprised frown and wide eyes. "Maybe Harry can teach you thing or two about being a gentleman, Jack." She smiled at the man, then playfully punched him in the arm, but Harry could tell that her heart wasn't in it. The smile didn't reach her eyes, which were filled with worry. "But you can call me Riley."

"What do you have on the guys who took Mac?" Dalton asked, ignoring the jab. His eyes were filled with a mix of both worry and rage. "Can you still track his comm?"

Riley sighed. "No, I think it got destroyed in the fight, and with all the chaos of everyone running from the bombs, I couldn't track which truck was the one that Mac and the guy in the suit were tossed in." She shook her head in obvious annoyance, then ran her hands through her tangled curls.

"That 'guy in the suit' is one of my best agents, and dearest friends," Harry said somberly. "In fact, he is something of a son to me, and I am willing to do anything in the world to get him back. I am sure you feel the same for your own agent?" Harry wouldn't normally ever say something so vulnerable to people he didn't know and trust - or even to people he did - but the way that Dalton had called his agent "his kid" earlier suggested that Dalton was as emotionally invested in getting his agent back as Harry was, and thus, making an emotional connection with him would likely make this Phoenix Foundation more cooperative with Kingsman. Yes, the fact that Merlin had to hear that rare admission was a shame, but Harry would do it time and time again if it helped him to get Eggsy back.

Dalton turned to him with fire in his eyes. "I would let the world burn for Mac. That kid means the whole damn universe to me, so if you Kingsman people can help me get him back, then that's damn well what you're gonna do," Dalton practically growled, every fiber of his being blazing with unrestrained emotion. Clearly this man wasn't nearly as closed off with his emotions on a daily basis as Harry was.

"All other objectives that must be completed pale in comparison when my agent is in such danger, so I propose the same thing," Harry said. "If you help me to get Eggsy back, then I will help you to retrieve your Mac." He extended his hand, and gave Dalton a grim smile when the man accepted it, and shook it tightly.

"You've got yourself a team," he said. Dalton looked to Riley with a smile. "We're gettin' him back."

"Harry, what have you just agreed to do?" Merlin asked in his ear. "I know you're Arthur but we don't know these people. How do you know that we can trust this Phoenix Foundation?"

Harry let out the smallest of sighs. "I'm afraid you must meet my overly cautious technological support," he said.

"Oh, Harry, I'm much more than tech support-"

"He can be quite obnoxious, but he's also quite useful, so Kingsman keeps him around," he interrupted Merlin with a smile.

"He must be good," Riley said. "His encryptions were a mess to get through. He certainly knows what he's doing." She gave an appreciative nod, and Harry was sure that Merlin just absolutely loved that.

"Well, he certainly thinks that," Harry admitted. "We have a jet waiting a short distance away if you would like to join us. We can regroup, you can contact your people, and we'll figure out how we're going to track down our boys."

"Seeing a super secret spy jet would be basically the coolest thing ever," Dalton muttered.

"Jack, we fly on a spy jet basically every day," Riley commented, but Dalton only muttered something about James Bond jets being cooler, and not the same thing.

This was certainly going to be one of the most interesting ops that Harry had ever worked.