Thank you for the wait. Sorry, life had hit and then it really hit me hard. In the mean time, please enjoy. More to come.
As Merlin's team assembled to their next target, he cleared all thoughts of the hacker, it was but a minor issue at the moment. His men were important and needed him.
"Alright Gentlemen, we've had many jobs in the past, most are straightforward while some are out of the ordinary. This job should be no different," he told them as he touched the screen and an attractive blonde tall female popped up on the screen. "This is Genavive Hort." he told them. "Married to one of the highest paying Sheiks in Abu Dabi. Originally from America with a reputation of capturing men and their money, she also managed to hold control a manufacturing company that deals with guns and ammo."
Several pictures of the guns and ammo popped up.
"Hort has kidnapped two men and are currently holding them hostage in one of these warehouses."
A map was on display, it zoomed in to show what was four large warehouses.
"The first victim, Robert Creag," a picture of a rather large man with a mustache and distinctive glasses, "an American who works for the IBM."
"The IBM? As in California, computer IBM?"
"Yes. His wife informed the police he did not come home from work, this was two weeks ago. He is their top engineer for their company- actually, in the nation." Merlin said as he pressed a key and a blurry video popped up, it was a parking lot area and it was dark. Although they could make out a van pulling up to Robert Craig, a black figure came out of the van and shot him in the chest, as he collapsed on the floor. Three men quickly followed and grabbed his body and placed him in the van. "It was a sedative to render him unconscious. As far as we know, he is still alive since I received-" he paused for a second, clearing his throat he continued.
"The second man is Heinrich Lange, a German scientists."
"Let me guess," Lancelot said with a coy tone, "Nuclear physicists?" he said with a smirk.
Merlin paused and raised an eyebrow, "This does sound like one of those ridiculous James Bond films, does it not?" he said with a hint of humor.
The three men chuckled with amusement.
"Close, Lancelot, but he is a mathematician. The combination in itself is a little daunting and we all know how this goes, some things just doesn't mix well. For these two, they are a dangerous working together and Hort will use them as she sees fit." he said as both pictures of the men covered the screen.
"How do you know if they're still alive? For all we know they may have been killed."
A slight pause from Merlin as he slowly touched a button on the board and a video of two men were in the same room, surrounded by guards. "I found this. Which is evidence enough that she is keeping them alive." telling the men. "I will be honest, we're going in blind. I have yet to gather any information about what she is doing and what she's planning on. However, if we can retrieve these two men, it'll buy us sometime to stop her plans and we can get an idea of why she wanted them. Saving them is our priority, we are not to interfere with her plans until we have sufficient evidence and information. You all leave in 1600 hours for your flight. Suit up."
The library was the sanctuary she always sought out and the cafe was just a possible extensions she could reach but she had some irrational fears. The fear of someone coming up to her and talking to her; men or women, it didn't matter. She didn't like making small talk and did not like to make friends. Reading a book with headphones were the only way to give a hint to others that she was not interested. That's only if she felt bold enough to go to a cafe. Most days she would go to the quiet corner of the library and have her moment of silence. Which is where she was, browsing through a book, pictures of Abu Dhabi, the culture, the history, society, the changes it had made throughout the years. It was certainly a beautiful place and yet, she knew more about it than she did in the book. It was the perfect lie for the eyes of the ignorant.
The next few days were daunting for Merlin, his men were on the ground and ready to go. They just needed a green light and Merlin was to give it. The danger he was sending them in was unprecedented grounds and it scared him. This was a bold move on his part and his comrades were counting on him to get them through it. The bottle of gin seemed ideal at the moment but he knew it would do him no good. All hands on deck. Placing his ear piece on, taking a deep breath, and fixing his tie, "Alright gentlemen, let's finish this and quick." he said with a sense of false confidence.
He had no way of knowing how the situation looked like so he was solely relying on blueprints of the building and a gps tracker on them. The means to hack into their system was hard.
"How does it look like?" Merlin asked Lancelot.
"Quiet. Too quiet."
"Check all your areas before you pick up the package."
"10-4." Lancelot answered.
The strange sound of breathing from his comrades made him even more nervous. All he wanted was for them to come back alive and breathing. Fixing his glasses, he watched them, like rats in a maze.
"Next left, be sure to approach slowly, this may be the room their in." he warned them.
"10-4" Lancelot answered.
A shuffling of the mic and then the breathing had hitched.
The screen had suddenly shut down.
"Shit!" Merlin yelled as he panicked. "Lancelot, do you copy?" contacting them but no answer. Again, he struggled hard to contact his men, but there was nothing.
Seconds turned into minutes.
It was unnerving it was now what he expected. Trying hard to find them, using any form of contact and looking for the GPS on them. It still didn't seem enough. Tapping his leg and loosing his mind, he was becoming scared. Opening the map again, he waited for a blue dot or a ping. Anything would be great.
Nothing.
It was time he called for back up. Even if it meant collecting their bodies. It didn't matter, no soldier left behind.
As he was ready to make the call he heard a scratching sound from the speakers.
It was hard to make out but it as somewhat muffled.
"Lancelot, Gahalad, what's your 20? Can you hear me?" he was yelling through the mic.
Another sound but this time it was hard breathing.
"Control we have contact!" it was Galahad.
Exhaling hard and not realizing he was holding his breath. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, we are fine! We have the package, we are heading to the bird."
"10-4 copy that. Call me when you're in flight."
"10-4."
If Merlin had hair, he'd be pulling it out. But he didn't in this case so instead, he started taking off his tie and sweater, leaving only his white crisp buttoned shirt. This had to be the scariest thing that had happened. Right when he is needed the most, the one thing he relies on dies on him. Something was not right and he was going to find out what happened. Even though, he had a feeling that it was the Piccadilly Hacker, he had hoped to God it wasn't.
Galahad finally called.
"What happened? I lost contact with you. Did you not hear me trying to call you?"
"What are you talking about? You didn't loose contact. You were speaking to us the whole time, while we were going through the warehouse."
"That's not possible!"
"Merlin, what are you going on about?"
"I lost contact with you for almost 20 minutes."
"I don't understand mate, you were guiding us and talking to us as if you were there. I knew you said you had limited resources on this but you somehow managed to give us more than we anticipated."
"Harry, listen. I had absolutely no contact with you for the 20 minutes! I did not give you any information as to how to get through the warehouse. It wasn't me!" he said in a slow and unnerving tone.
There was no sound from Harry.
"Are you still there?" Merlin asked.
"How is that-" Harry said as he coughed. "possible?"
"I don't know."
"Picadilly Hacker?"
"I'm hoping to God it wasn't. This could have gone absolutely horrible."
"We will regroup and we can discuss this. We will land in 12 hours."
"I'll notify Arthur."
13 hours later, the discussion was on the table and for once, the men were scared out of their wits. They exchanged information about what had happened. As far as the team, they stated that connection was gone for a minute and then it came back. Merlin had spoke to them, guided them, and sent them information with every step they took. Giving them insight on when and where the guards were coming from and when to attack. Merlin, had also given them the codes to opening the doors that were heavily guarded.
Galahad and Lancelot were in complete shock when the realized the actual Merlin did not even do any of it. But then Lancelot did notice, the dialect was different from the usual. It was laced with something else, almost western like. Harry noticed it when Merlin said, "Don't worry man, I got you." Which cause Harry to stop on his tracks when he heard him say that. Though he quickly brushed it off, it was not his dialect.
They listened to the recording of what sounds like Merlin talking to them on the headphones. It was his voice. But it wasn't him. It was stolen. This sent a shiver down Merlin's spine. Someone had taken his voice!
The Kingsmen were under quietly under attack.
And Merlin was going to see that he fought back.