Chapter 48: Arc 2: Chapter 4: Hidden Threats

"Merlin, come live with us."

In the afternoon, Merlin accompanies his sister and brother-in-law out of the cafe; May with her reddish eyes holds Merlin's hand and tells her lost-and-found brother:

"Don't live outside, you can come live with us."

Ben who was standing next to May also nodded.

Although their first encounter was not a friendly one, Mr. Ben is a truly kind person, someone you can place your trust on, this was what Merlin had summarized during their lunch together.

No wonder cousin, who is so pretty and dazzling, would marry a not-so-handsome, not-so-rich Mr. Ben.

"Let's not."

Merlin holds his cousin May's hand and says:

"I have an apartment in Hell's Kitchen, and I've adopted a child...most importantly, maybe tomorrow, I'll have to make a trip to Europe, and I don't know exactly when I'll come back."

He apologetically tells May:

"When I come back, I'll pay you both a visit."

"Oh, okay then."

May and her husband look at each other, she nods in pity.

Just as Merlin was about to leave, May suddenly steps forward and hugs Merlin, as they were young, she gently pats on his back and says:

"Then, take good care of yourself."

"Mmm."

Merlin feels this abrupt sense of care, the emotional surge coerces him to nod promptly.

A few minutes later, he waves goodbye to his sister and brother-in-law, and with the satisfaction of feeling whole again, Merlin starts the car. He hums a song while turning and driving towards Hell's Kitchen.

He was done with the pleasant things, and now it was time to deal with some unpleasant ones.

"Screech"

With a light sound, Fury's well-maintained Classic Ford stops right outside of St Agnes Orphanage.

Merlin lowers the car window and looks at the orphanage, at the entrance was a statue of an angel, and the saint crosses embellished in the surroundings meant that this place was of church property.

The orphanage was different from what Merlin had imagined one to be.

Back when Merlin was living in Hell's Kitchen, he had heard of the history of this church and monastery, it was said to be built in the American Civil War, over 100 so years ago.

It's said that these three church buildings belonged to a religious organization called the Union of the Divine Grace, it was headquartered in Europe, but it had property scattered across the globe. It was a very pious and very large organization that was supposedly founded in the Middle Ages.

And now, St Matthews Church and Monastery were managed by a priest named Paul, who was a Master in Theology and he often held believer gatherings in the church. Even in the lawless neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, priest Paul was a well-respected elder. He was often willing to provide help to those in need, regardless of whether or not they have committed a crime before.

Merlin had seen the priest before, albeit they have never talked, Merlin could tell that he was truly a kind priest worth respecting.

"Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"

Merlin was stopped by the orphanage's security guard, who used a calm yet wary tone to ask. Merlin takes out a proceed from his pocket, hands it to the security guard, and says:

"I'm Erik Stevens' guardian, I'm here to bring him home."

"Oh, you're the parent of that mischievous kid."

After checking Merlin's documents, the security guard lets down his guards and tells Merlin with a smile:

"Please wait here, I'll go call him out. You may not know yet, but that kid got hurt a few days back, though his injuries are not serious."

"Oh?"

Merlin frowns and asks:

"How did Erik get hurt?"

The security guard answers with a sense of relief:

"The kid got involved in a shootout when he went out, a group of robbers was robbing a store, apparently there were 4 killed in that accident, truly lucky for the kid to have survived that."

"A shootout?"

Merlin shakes his head helplessly at the word:

"How very Hell's Kitchen."

Merlin waits outside for a few minutes, he then sees Erik, who had bandages on his arm and face walking out while being accompanied by the security guard and a nun.

The kid wore a baseball cap, a coat with a hoodie, and a small briefcase. From his slightly bulked-up body, merlin could tell that the kid hadn't been suffering the past few months.

When he sees Merlin, Erik who was talking to the nun immediately puts down his briefcase and waves at Merlin, his movements might have affected his wounds, causing him to gnash his teeth.

After saying his goodbyes to the nun, Merlin places Erik's briefcase in the car's trunk and sits in the driver's seat. Erik sits in the back seat, and as he starts the car, Merlin's gentle expression becomes serious.

He looks at Erik through the rearview mirror and says:

"I was going to scold you because you jumped across 3 foster families in 6 months in a clear act of trouble. But judging from your current looks, I guess there's something else to it?"

"You're as smart as ever! Merlin."

Erik smiles and lies behind Merlin's seat, whispering to him:

"Someone discovered our secret, they're hunting for me."

"Mmm?"

Merlin squints his eyes and says:

"But you don't have it on you, right?"

"Mmm, I listened to you and hid it somewhere."

"Good! Now sit tight, we'll talk back home."

"Vroom"

Fury's car lets out a deep roar and abruptly speeds up, rolling up the fallen leaves on the road. Under Merlin's driving, they soon arrive at the house Fury had prepared for them.

The house was slightly worn-out, but it was nice; it came with a garage and a front lawn, supposedly there's a backyard as well.

Merlin parks Fury's car in the garage and takes out Erik's briefcase, the two open the front door and look at their new home.

"Er, no furniture?"

Merlin looks at the extremely simple living room in front of him, there were only 3 chairs and a dining table, which made Merlin somewhat disappointed.

He had thought that Fury would prepare everything for him.

And now, it's safe to assume that Fury merely sent someone to pay the rent.

"It's fine."

Erik, who was standing next to Merlin, did not care about the lack of furniture, he walks into the room and looks back at Merlin:

"Better than my place in Oakland."

"You're easy to satisfy."

Merlin snorts, he reaches out and messes up Erik's perfectly combed hair. He places the briefcase down, closes the door, and hangs his coat on the hanger.

Merlin opens the fridge, in it were a few bottles of water; he takes one out, opens it, and leans against the wall. He looks at Erik and gently asks:

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"So, what's going on?"

"You have anything to eat?"

Erik sits on the chair, he looks at Merlin and says:

"I'm hungry right now, so let's talk while eating, okay?"

"I just ordered pizza, it'll be here in a while."

Merlin pulls out a chair and sits beside Erik, he looks at the black boy next to me and asks seriously:

"Rather than eating, I think you should be more worried about your life...did the people who were hunting for you cause your gunshot wound?"

"Mmm, they're targeting me."

Erik's expression had a hint of nervousness, he tells Merlin:

"Yesterday afternoon, me and Sister Pell were buying things for the orphanage. When we just entered the store, 3 people armed with guns stormed in, I would've been caught if Sister Pell didn't tell me to run out through the back door. I ran back to the monastery, but Sister Pell was shot and she's still in the hospital."

"They weren't here to rob the store, they didn't even touch the money in the counter, they just went for my backpack."

Erik looks at Merlin, he fearfully shrinks his body and says:

"Those people, they're here for my vibranium."

"Shh!"

Merlin places his finger by his lips and makes a shush gesture to Erik, he then asks:

"Keep it down, what's with your previous foster families? Why did you run away?"

"Because they keep chasing me!"

Erik explains to Merlin:

"After you left, I was delivered to an elderly couple, they were nice people, and I liked them too. But on the 7th day of me moving in, I noticed people wandering outside the house every night. At first, I thought those were thieves, until one day, my room was 'patronized' twice, then I knew that they were most definitely not mere thieves."

The black child raises his head and says:

"What kind of thief doesn't go looking for money in the main bedroom, but instead rummages through my room? Fortunately, I've hidden the thing ever since I arrived in New York, otherwise, it might've been stolen at that time."

"I quarreled with the elderly couple on purpose and got sent back to St Agnes Orphanage, I wanted to go back."

Erik shrugs at Merlin:

"I hid it there."

"No need to tell me, Erik, that's yours to keep, and that's your secret."

Merlin shakes his head and looks at the time, he continues:

"Is it the same for the 2nd and 3rd foster families?"

"Mmm, the 2nd time was."

Erik replies in a low tone:

"I told Sister Pell that I wanted to stay in the orphanage, but Father Paul said that every child needs the love from a family, so he introduced me to the 2nd foster family. It turned out just like the 1st one. But the 3rd family showed up on their own!"

The astute black child looks left and right and tells Merlin with a mysterious tone:

"They hid their identities and wanted to take me in, but I still found out who they were...they're the underlings of that madman Klaue! My father has their picture, I've seen it once."

"Madman Klaue?"

Merlin heard the name and found it familiar. He tries recollecting his memories and finally found who he was.

"You mean Ulysses Klaue? The guy who stormed into Wakanda to steal the vibranium?"

"Yes! That's the name!"

Erik stands on the chair and describes the man to Merlin:

"Back in Oakland, one day when I came back from home, I saw Klaue in my home talking with my dad. He had a thick smell of wine and injuries on his neck; he tried giving me candy but my dad stopped him.

My dad told me secretly that Klaue was a true madman, and for me to stay away from him.

"Mmm, if that's the case, then it all makes sense."

Merlin nods and tells Merik:

"Klaue and your father worked together to steal some Vibranium from Wakanda, Klaue took most of it, but that guy still yearns for the Vibranium your father had. Once your father went missing, he began targeting you."

"Mmm, that should be it."

Erik nods vigorously and looks at Merlin hopefully:

"Merlin, can you think of a way to arrest Klaue?"

"Arresting him may not be that hard."

Merlin contemplates and tells Erik:

"But I'll be heading to Europe tomorrow, so let's talk once I get back. You'll be staying in St Agnes Orphanage in the meantime, okay?"

"Of course."

Erik was a premature kid, he understood Merlin's difficulty and tells him:

"The orphanage is fine, everyone there treats each other peacefully, the sisters are kind to us, and lots of kids go to school together with me; Father Paul even tells us stories sometimes, I quite like it there. Plus, next to the church is the police station, Klaue's lackeys dare not to enter the church."

"Fine then, I'll send you back tonight."

Merlin tells Erik:

"So you'll stay there until I get back. And while we're on the topic, I haven't seen you for 5 months now, you look like your mood has improved, did you make new friends?"

"Of course."

Erik shrugs and says:

"The kids in the orphanage aren't as old as me, and they like to play with me, so the sisters had me look over them. I even help Father Paul tidy up the church and hold gatherings, oh, right! I'm also responsible for taking care of little Ava when the sisters are eating."

"Little Ava?"

Merlin looks back at Erik and asks:

"Who's that?"

"A 2-year-old baby."

The doorbell rings, Erik stands up and takes the delivered pizza from the door, he smells at the fragrance aroma of the pizza while saying:

"I heard from Sister Pell, she was put in front of the orphanage one night 2 years ago. No one knows who little Ava's parents are, even the name Ava was given by Father Paul. A lot of people say that she's surrounded by misfortune because all the foster families that take her in all experienced misfortune...but little Ava is cute, she's very well-behaved, she doesn't cry or make a ruckus like the other kids."

"You say...surrounded my misfortune?"

Merlin moves his fingers and mumbles to himself:

"It sounds very familiar."

 

 

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