Title: The Thief

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Chapter Nine:

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It takes about 20 minutes for Morgana to finally get Merlin out of bed the morning after their night out with Gwen and Arthur. It would've taken a lot less if Merlin hadn't insisted on Morgana refreshing his memory from last night, claiming to have forgotten what exactly they did before they finally passed out.

Morgana laughs as she watches the naked, handsome man finally slide out of bed and stretch his arms up above his head. He grins and winks at her as she admires his hard body. She supposes though, his body isn't entirely perfect. He has a scar on his hip, in the shape of a small star, and another one below the back of his neck, right between his shoulder blades. She had asked him about it two days ago, but all she got was a shrug and a mumble about them being from his younger years. She didn't ask about them again, but she kisses each scar, every time she can.

Her eyes follow his every movement as he nakedly goes to the closet, pulls it open and begins to search for something to wear to his final meeting. Today, Morgana notes silently, will also be the day when she will finally get that briefcase open. And whatever it is she's going to find, will either solve her problems with Morgause, add more problems to the ones she has now, or completely blow this mission.

An hour and a half later, Merlin leaves and Morgana finds herself alone. She quickly calls Gwen, before proceeding to get the fingerprint mold of Merlin's hand which she hid inside a small vent in the maintenance room down the hall. Gwen meets her back in the suite, and together, they retrieve the briefcase from its hiding spot inside the closet.

"What do you think is inside?" Gwen asks curiously as Morgana begins to fit a single finger mold onto her index finger.

Morgana shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "I have no clue, but I seriously hope it's something Morgause will be happy with."

Gwen sighs and stares at her friend. "You know, I was watching you and Merlin last night."

Morgana's head snaps up at that and she blinks at the olive-skinned girl. "That's not creepy at all, Gwen." she says sarcastically, to which the other girl rolls her eyes.

"I meant while you two were with Arthur and I."

Morgana sighs, "I know what you meant."

"And?"

Morgana shrugs her shoulders as she tries to fit the finger mold perfectly onto her finger. "And nothing… you know what we're really here for."

Gwen stares disbelievingly at her friend. "What?" she shakes her head, refusing to accept her friends nonchalant answer. "Morgana, I know you're in love with this guy. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are in love with him, and I'm pretty damned sure he's in love with you too."

Morgana could feel the tears begin to sting in her eyes as she glares down at the fingerprint mold. "It doesn't matter how anyone feels. I'm finishing this mission."

"You could end it all here, Morgana." Gwen argues. "No one but Morgause and the team would know. You won't have to tell Merlin anything—,"

"I can't!" Morgana shouts angrily, her breath becoming shallow as she stares at her best friend through her tears. "I could never be with him! Not like this… I want a normal life, Gwen. A life without secrets, or lies, or looking over my shoulder every bloody ten minutes." she sobs and stares down at the carpet. "I just can't be with him and lie to him… he doesn't deserve that. He's… he's amazing, and kind, sweet, and gentle… and you were right."

"About what?" Gwen asks softly.

Morgana finally gets the mold to fit perfectly onto her finger and looks up at Gwen. "You were right about me falling for him… but we both know that if he finds out what, and who I really am, he won't feel the same way."

Gwen says nothing as Morgana finally pulls the briefcase towards her and looks down at the biometric lock. She wipes away her tears on her sleeves as she glances towards her friend. "Did Lance mention any precautions?"

Gwen shakes her head. "If the print is fitted perfectly, and the case is really Merlin's, it should be fine."

Morgana nods, takes a deep breath, and finally presses her mold-covered finger against the biometric scanner. It takes a few seconds, and then there are three short beeps, green lights blinking, and a single audible click. Morgana and Gwen exchange looks of relief before Morgana finally unlatches the corners and pulls the case open.

…

Morgause finds herself getting extremely skeptical about her deal with Cenred as she waits for him in the abandoned warehouse he had told her to meet him at. It wouldn't be the first time she's been skeptical of him, and she knows that as long as she's dealing with Cenred, it certainly won't be the last. She should stop all deals with him, but she needs him. Despite the fact that she utterly despises the bloody idiot, he always comes through with their deals. Don't get her wrong, she doesn't trust him with her life or anything… but she understands that he's just doing his job. He's good at his job… but he's also a perverted rat.

Sighing heavily to herself, Morgause checks her watch for the umpteenth time in the ten minutes since she arrived. After a few more moments, she finally sees a black truck turn into the warehouse and park a few yards away from her black, old-school Camaro. She watches as the door to the truck opens, and Cenred emerges, carrying a briefcase. He's dressed in his usual dark clothing, a toothpick poking out from between his lips as he makes his way towards her car.

Morgause finally jumps out, a hard frown and a glare already aimed at Cenred. "You're late."

"Traffic." Cenred shrugs. "I got what you asked for."

Morgause nods to him. If he weren't so perverted and full of lies, she would've actually considered asking him to officially join their team… but then again, he would be a horrible thief. The man is full of suspicious traits that a 4 year old could spot from a mile away. Shaking her thoughts away, Morgause looks at the case. "So did you bring it?"

Cenred nods and hands her the briefcase. "Everything you need is in there."

"And he wants to meet me?"

Cenred scratches his neck nervously. "He does… but it's a lot sooner than you think."

Morgause studies his nervous look and her eyebrows furrow at him. "How soon?"

Before Cenred could reply, a sleek black Chevrolet pulls into the warehouse.

Morgause instinctively reaches for the 9millimeter handgun she had holstered in the back of her jeans, pulling it out and aiming at the Chevy. Cenred's eyes widen as he hisses at her to put her weapon away. "It's him!" he says warningly.

Morgause doesn't move as she stares at the vehicle with narrowed eyes. "How do I know this isn't a setup?"

Cenred huffs and rolls his eyes. "You don't… look, it took a lot of convincing on my part to get you a meeting with this guy. And aiming a gun at his vehicle won't bode well for the both of us."

Despite her better judgement, Morgause finally puts her weapon back and stares at the Chevy. It takes a few long moments, but finally, the back door opens, and a man steps out of the vehicle and approaches them. He's tall and skinny with pale skin, dark green eyes, and a shifty look about him. He stops just a few feet away from them and looks directly at Morgause. "My boss wants to speak with you."

Morgause glances at Cenred who gives her a reassuring nod. She hesitates for a mere moment before nodding and following the man. Cenred moves to follow them, but the man suddenly turns and looks at Cenred with a stern gaze.

"He wishes to speak with her, alone." he gestures to Morgause with his hand, waiting for Cenred to nod and step back before continuing to the vehicle.

When Morgause reaches the car, she is lead to the side towards the backdoor. The windows are dark tinted, so all she can see is a dark silhouette of a man sitting inside. The window rolls down only a quarter of the way so all she can see is the top of the mans dark hair.

"Your friend there tells me that you are one of the best at what you do." His voice is velvety and deep, and his tone is sharp.

Morgause glances skeptically at Cenred. There's no telling what he told this guy. She looks back, feeling awkward to be talking to a window. "He's not my friend, and I believe he said something similar about you."

The man turns his head towards her, and Morgause could tell that she had said something he didn't like. "We are nowhere near the same level, Morgause… I know things you've never even thought of. I've seen things you can barely imagine… I've done things you can only dream of."

Morgause finds herself angry at that. Who the hell does this guy think he is? Yet still, she can't deny, she's intimidated, which is rare. And she doesn't like the feeling. "I don't think you know me well enough to deliver such a judgement."

"Oh, but I do know you, Morgause."

Morgause involuntarily swallows as she shifts from foot to foot and stares at the dark glass. "I doubt that." she says.

"Morgause Le Faye, born in London, England on December 14, 1985. You have one sister, your parents died in a car crash, and you're a professional looter. There is not much to your life outside of those things… but you're getting bored with the same routines. You want more. More money, more power… just more." there's a pause and then the man continues. "I can give you more."

Morgause resists the urge to roll her eyes. "Did Cenred tell you those things?"

The man chuckles, "You don't like the fact that someone who you know nothing about, knows a lot about you... it makes you uncomfortable. It makes you paranoid." He states, "But I can assure you, I have no intentions of turning you over to the authority."

Morgause could sense the threat in his voice, despite his words. Never one to back down, she scoffs. "I don't suppose Cenred told you that I'm also really hard to find once I choose to disappear?"

There's a pause before the man speaks again, "Your colleague told me nothing... and trust me. If I wish to find someone, they will without a doubt be found. I have more connections in this world than you could ever fathom, Morgause. It would be wise of you to remember that."

Morgause nods. She's not accepting that this man is the real deal just yet... but she's not denying it either. She hadn't found a single clue on who he could possibly be. So he's either a nobody, or he's really good at what he does. Making up her mind, she looks at the silhouette. She could almost make out the shape of his face. "What do you want me to do?"

"It's simple. I want you to steal for me."

Morgause bites her lip. "And my team?"

"You may keep them on if you choose... but I have rules."

"Rules?" Morgause doesn't really like the sound of that. She's usually the one in charge and the one to give out the rules. She had never been the one to take orders from someone.

"Yes. You'll find all my conditions, rules, and orders for your first operation in the briefcase your colleague gave you earlier. You'll also find your first salary inside it as well."

Morgause continues to chew on her lip in thought. After a few long moments of weighing the pros and cons, she decides that there shouldn't be that much problems. She'll have to look through the case first, but for now, she will agree. With a nod, she says, "We have a deal." And with that, she walks off. Whatever this is, she has a feeling it's going to good. The Hawk of the Plain was right about her getting bored with the same work. She supposes, this would be her big break, and hopefully, it would appeal to her sister and keep her from leaving the team.

...

"What the bloody hell is this?" Morgana mumbles confusedly.

Gwen shakes her head, just as confused as her friend.

Passports, identification cards, social security cards, credit cards, video discs, flash drives, and a small folder containing about a hundred birth certificates.

Morgana picks up a passport and opens it as Gwen starts going through the I.D's each sporting a picture of Merlin, with different names. Morgana shakes her head as she stares down at Merlin's passport. A picture of himself, a different name, and a different birth date. She picks up another and finds the same thing. Another name, another birth date, and a different picture of the same man. "What...?" She trails off as she picks up the folder and looks through the birth certificate, some of which she recognizes has a matching name to some of the passports. Gwen begins going through the credit cards and social security cards, each sporting a different name.

Morgana shakes her head furiously. "What the hell is going on?"

Gwen shakes her head, completely baffled. "More importantly, who the hell is Merlin?"

...

A/N: Not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it could still fit with my original plot. It just seemed to fit so well! Anyway, I'm sure you're all wondering what the hell is going on, but I guess you'll have to wait to find out! Hope you liked this chapter! Thank you!

-McDiggin'It