Chapter 204: Arc 6: Chapter 2: Staying Behind

"They're called the Ten Rings."

In the back room of the bar, Merlin listened to his liquor supplier, Alef, who had lived in Kandahar for generations, as he spoke of the news he knew.

"They had been present in Kandahar for a very long time. When I was young, I heard from my grandfather, who has passed away, that they had a presence in Kandahar long before the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. My grandpa said there was a period of time when the officials in the city are constantly being killed, and there would be a sign of the Ten Rings labeled in every bizarre death scene."

"My grandfather said that they were a force that appeared on this land very early. It is said that they fled here from the east. Those warriors who act in the dark are like legendary assasins. Like all of us, they submit to a mighty leader, who is said to be an immortal saint."

"Of course, these are just legends."

Alef looked at the badge in Merlin's hand with slight fear as he said:

"My grandpa used those stories as legends to scare me and my siblings, but then, a few years ago, when my business was booming, I actually met them."

"Where?"

Merlin asked.

"In the mountains south of Kandahar."

Alef said:

"There's a lot of canyons there, and they're hiding in one of them. A friend of mine took me a business, saying it was a bunch of 'jihadists' who wanted a lot of wine. But you know, those who call themselves jihadists are the most paranoid and insane believers, for whom drinking is a sin."

"That shows that they are not sincere, at least not as sincere as they claim themselves to be."

Alef nodded at what Merlin had said.

The wine merchant recalls his experience several years ago and tells Merlin:

"I was a little hesitant at the time since I knew how hose jihadists would act. I was worried that something would go wrong. But at the time, my business needed funds, so in the end, I took over the business."

"I went to deliver it myself."

Alef said:

"They blindfolded me and went to their base with three trucks full of alcohol."

"It was a very remote canyon, there were people everywhere, Yuri, many, many people, and it was very messy, and Arabs were not the only ones I saw in it... There were a lot of weapons stacked in the caves there, all very advanced weapons, and I even saw the huge, well-tended fields that were carved out behind that canyon."

As he spoke, Alef hesitated, he was not sure whether or not he should speak of what he saw.

Merlin guessed why Alef was hesitating and said:

"Those fields shouldn't be growing crops, right?"

"Mmm."

Alef nods and says in a serious tone:

"It's something very evil."

"Raw material for making drugs?"

Merlin nodded with understanding, as all the key points are now strung together.

"Anything else?"

Merlin asked, and Alef shook his head:

"No, that's all. I was very scared at the time, because the militants always behave inappropriately, but to my surprise, the deal went smoothly. I didn't see their leader, but The person in charge of the handover was quick to settle the bill for me. They wanted more wine, but I declined."

"Although I'm not a particularly sincere person, it's enough to go to that kind of place once."

"Oh, is that so."

Merlin was a little disappointed due to how little news Alef gave him.

He talked with the dead militant before that the Ten Rings' stronghold should be in the mountainous area south of Kandahar, but there are many valleys in the valley. There was no way to lock the Ten Rings Gang's location with just this information.

"How many are there?"

Merlin asked.

"At least 400 people."

Alef recalled and said:

"They made a cave in the canyon and lived in it. I saw the emblem they printed on the tent, it was exactly the same as the one in your hand, very much like something that some jihadist organization would make. But...those people don't give me the same vibe as those mujahideen I've seen before. Like you said, they're...well, not sincere."

"They are more like a group of armed thugs, fanning the flames everywhere in the name of faith, a group of villains."

"Sincere people don't sell drugs."

Merlin shook his head:

"In your teaching, that is also very wrong. I've learned enough, thank you, Alef, take your father and leave, in a few days, I will go to the warehouse where you put the wine to get billed with you."

"Mmm."

Alef beckoned his sons outside to come in, they lifted his father, and was about to leave. And just as he was leaving, he seemed to remember something as he said to Merlin:

"One more thing, when I left the canyon that time, I seemed to see a few white people."

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"Mmm?"

Merlin looks at Alef and says with a frown:

"How can white people show up in a base of a group of self-proclaimed jihadists?"

"I 'm sure that I saw right."

Alef said:

"Although I was only there for less than an hour, in my memories, they were wearing black uniforms, and a few were wearing military uniforms, because they were dressed differently than others, so I remember it very clearly."

"Mmm, I see."

Merlin nods, he watches Alef leave in a hurry before returning to the back room, he then takes out his notebook, and writes down the information on it.

There were many similar pieces of information in Merlin's notebook. Over the past few months, the clues about the Ten Rings hiding near the city had become more and more clear.

But, it was still not enough.

Some of the most crucial information was still missing.

Merlin didn't just come here for the Ten Rings. Fury had sent him here to find out proof of the CIA's involvement in using the bodies of dead soldiers to conduct large-scale drug trafficking.

The current situation shows that the Ten Rings should be the provider of those drugs, but although Merlin has been trying to search for information in recent months, Merlin doesn't know much about the local news of the CIA.

Those peers of his have been hidden in this place for too long, and it is not so easy to find them. What Merlin had collected was more fragmented news.

The CIA has a solid foundation in Afghanistan. They began to accumulate strength in this strategic location in Central Asia as early as the Cold War.

After the failure of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA established a secret but stable system here in the shortest possible time, and also supported several forces to participate in the brutal civil war in Afghanistan that began in 1995.

If Merlin finally finds out that the CIA is indeed involved in the evil drug-trafficking operation, that would mean that the CIA's activities in Afghanistan were likely to cover up some evil actions, which also means that the CIA , that's used for overseas collection, has become utterly and completely corrupted.

This was a very astonishing situation.

But the problem was, because the CIA had been operating for decades, they have a large number of local people, and their eyes and ears are all over the land, which forces Merlin to conduct any investigations about the CIA in a careful manner.

He could not reveal his identity, thus he could only wait for the moment.

Moreover, there is another troublesome thing that was bothering Merlin.

This mission, according to Fury's plan, should've been over within a few months; Merlin had initially thought so, but in the process of his lurking, something terrible had happened.

From the beginning of the civil war in 1995 to 1999, Kandahar, the second largest city in Afghanistan, has been under the firm control of the government forces, but three months ago, the situation changed. The armed factions near Kandahar were suddenly integrated and began to march towards Kandahar.

This resulted in the city becoming one of the battlefields of the civil war in just a few months. Although the war has not spread to the city yet, according to Merlin's estimation, it is only a matter of time before the city is dragged into the hell of war.

What's worse is that Merlin has been active in Kandahar since he entered Afghanistan and has already found signs of secrets here. The secrets of the Ten Rings and the CIA are near Kandahar, and he cannot leave.

Merlin seemed to have fallen into a swamp caused by a war. He was stranded in a country that had been in turmoil for more than ten years by this sudden war.

Fury had advised Merlin to abandon the mission and return to New York.

But with so much time and energy invested here, and so many clues that have been found, even if Fury is willing to give up, Merlin himself was not willing to do so.

He was not a man who likes to do futile work.

"This civil war has muddled the water, and the activities on the CIA side are becoming more and more secretive, and it is getting quite difficult for me to make a breakthrough on the investigation on them within a short time."

Merlin thought with some regret:

"Unless I find their base camp and rush in to find evidence."

"Then, let's think from a different perspective, the Ten Rings."

Merlin looked at the badge that he played with his fingers, and a light flashed in his eyes as he suddenly thought of an idea:

"It seems that I have to go to that canyon that Alef talked about. If he saw correctly, the white people who appeared in that canyon... is where I can get some information."

After making up his mind, Merlin had to prepare for action.

The mountainous area in the south of Kandahar is very broad. The entire country is located in the Pamir Plateau. The unique landforms of Afghanistan determine that there are an astonishing number of canyons in the mountains, and most of those places are not suitable for human actions. Some canyons are close to danger. The natural ecology of the desert is extremely harsh.

Even for someone like Merlin, if he is going to explore that place for a long time, he has to prepare a lot of necessary things.

After making up his mind, Merlin looked at the small bar he had opened for a few months with slight regret.

In the past few months, he has been lurking, but he has become accustomed to this kind of leisurely life. Seriously, this is the most relaxing period of time he has lived in the past few years since he joined SHIELD.

"Mmm, the career of a bar owner is about to come to an end."

He turns around, pours himself a glass of wine, and adds some ice.

He leans against the bar and sips the cold liquid gently. In this empty bar, Merlin closes his eyes and begins to enjoy the last of his leisure time.

He is a highly executive, and tomorrow, he will begin his own operation.

Hope everything goes well.

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