Chapter 89: Arc 3: Chapter 6: Coulson’s Story

Phil Coulson was nervous.

Logically speaking, an intern agent like himself who hasn't even graduated from the academy, has no permission to hold a gun. But under Director Keller's mandatory order, Phil and the other agents training in the base in Nevada were allowed to carry guns.

The rookies were told that the level 3 non-military agent Nick Fury had betrayed the organization, and brought a woman suspected to be a spy from other organizations into a top-secret base.

Logically speaking, these rookies should be more familiar with Fury, because their training over the past few months was all planned by Fury.

But Keller was the director in name, even if the senior agents knew who the real boss of the organization was. But Keller's current identity could easily trick these not yet employed rookies.

They were practically stuffed into the chopper and followed Keller here to 'catch the traitor'.

A lot of rookies were excited over their first mission.

But Phil was not, he instinctively feels that Officer Fury had done no wrong, he did not know nor care about Director Keller's intentions.

"Don't move! Or I'll shoot!"

In the basement passageway under Pegasus Base, Phil holds the gun with both hands and points it at the guy in front of him who was wearing a black combat uniform and headgear.

In the last dozen minutes, the agents' communications channels began to turn into silence, Phil even heard the screams and cries for help of the agents, meaning that someone, or something, was attacking the agents.

Phil even saw the knocked-out companions in the elevator, maybe the person in front of him was the one who did it.

"Phil Coulson..."

The man who was pointed at by a gun turns around and looks at Phil, while Phil looks at his eyes.

They were a pair of weird eyes that were like the embers of a died-out flame.

Normal people don't have such pupils! The guy in front of him was not normal!

And, how did he know his name?

"Don't move! Final warning!"

Agent Coulson warns again, the man did not care, he raises his finger, points at Coulson, and says word by word:

"How...are you here?"

The warrior in black walks across the unconscious alien on the ground and walks toward agent Coulson. Seeing his movement, a sharp light flashes in Coulson's eyes as he places his finger on the trigger.

"Stay back!"

He gives out his last warning, but Merlin did not care, he continued walking forward as if he did not see the gun in Coulson's hands.

"Dammit!"

Agent Coulson grits his teeth and pulls the trigger.

But just as he pulls the trigger, he sees Merlin disappear then reappear right in front of him, and the gun in his hands was raised to point at the ceiling by a force.

"Bang"

A gunshot.

Merlin who appeared in front of Coulson holds the fired gun with his left hand and raises his right.

Seeing his weapon being controlled, agent Coulson reflectively lets go of the gun, but just as he moves into combat position, Merlin accurately karate chops on his neck.

Coulson feels intense pain, then, his view begins to spin as he falls onto the floor weakly.

The last things he saw was Merlin bending down and reaching for him, as well as those eyes that were radiating an ember glow.

His first mission...

Failed so embarrassingly.

---

Merlin carried Coulson on his shoulder while dragging the unconscious Skrull's hand with his other hand like he was dragging something heavy.

The entire Pegasus Base had fallen into chaos from the sudden raid brought by the agents Keller had brought, but the guards could not even react when facing an attacker like Merlin.

Using his dark senses and black fog, Merlin returns to the parking lot in just 10 minutes.

He throws Coulson to the back seat, ties up the alien with steel chains, and throws him into the trunk. He sits on the driver's seat and using the keycard he 'borrowed', drove and left the chaotic Pegasus Base without any obstruction.

Merlin drove while raising his arm, there was an unread message on his watch x pager.

It was sent by Fury a dozen minutes ago.

"Out of danger, moving to Louisiana, stay in touch!"

Merlin sighs in relief after knowing that Fury and Vers were out of danger. He raises his head and adjusts the rearview mirror to point at the unconscious Coulson at the back.

He has mixed feelings as he looks at that familiar face, the brother he once had.

He doesn't know how to face him, most importantly, he did not even know Fury had recruited Coulson into SHIELD.

Now that he thinks about it, a few months back, Fury had said in his call with Merlin...that he was on a trip in Wisconsin.

"Ah, I'm such a retard."

Merlin pats on his forehead and looks at the familiar road in front of him, he says:

"I should've noticed sooner."

But the deed was done, he could only accept the fact that he could not stop Coulson from entering this messy situation. Merlin turns the steering wheel while looking at the unconscious Coulson through the rearview mirror, saying:

"Now..."

"What should I do with you? Phil...my little brother."

A few hours later, Merlin returns to the small bar that he and Fury along with Vers had left from.

Pancho's Bar was still empty, the frightened bar owner and its employees have yet to return. Merlin opens the lock, carries the unconscious Coulson and alien into the bar, throws them onto their seats, then walks to the back of the bar and makes himself a drink.

He picks up the glass, takes off his headgear, and takes a sip of the glass. He turns and looks outside, the light of dawn shines into the bar through the windows, illuminating this dusky bar.

A few minutes later, Merlin casually speaks:

"For how long do you plan to pretend to sleep?"

No one answered him, the bar was silent.

Merlin holds his glass, walks out of the bar, and sits opposite to the pretending to sleep Phil Coulson.

This rookie thinks that he hid well, but under Merlin's spread-out dark senses, his every move was like the burning torch in the darkness.

"Bam"

 Something is thrown onto the table in front of agent Coulson, the sudden noise made agent Coulson's eyes jump, but he kept them shut as to pretend to have fainted.

"Level 2 field agent Merlin Reilly of SHIELD!"

Merlin leans against the chair and introduces himself to the rookie in front of him, he takes a sip of his glass and lightly says:

"You should be calling me sir! Rookie."

"Mmm?"

Hearing Merlin's identity, Coulson opens his eyes, he looks at Merlin suspiciously, finding his face to be awfully familiar-looking.

But Coulson did not voice it out, instead, he lowers his head and looks at the identification on the table.

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He picks up the identification and carefully examines the hidden details on it, a dozen seconds later, Coulson identifies the identification in his hand to be real. Which means that the guy he thought to be a bad guy, was one of his own?

"Why did you attack us?"

Coulson places the black wallet onto the table and pushes it to Merlin, he looks at Merlin and says:

"If you're really a senior agent of the organization, why attack us?"

"Because the order you're executing is wrong, rookie!"

Merlin tells Coulson:

"Keller is incompetent, and the one who lead you wasn't Keller at all! I can assure you that that guy is still tied up somewhere in the base in Nevada. Being able to identify friendlies and enemies is the most basic skill an agent should have, agent Coulson, unfortunately, you all judged wrongly."

"Your agent training was a failure...Fury who had high hopes for you guys would be disappointed."

"You're saying..."

Coulson rubs his neck, looks at Merlin, and says:

"What officer Fury is doing is right?'

"This, I cannot judge."

Merlin drinks the icy beer and says:

"No one can determine whether or not something is good or bad until the results show. But what I can tell you is that compared to Keller, Fury is more trustworthy...alright, that'll be enough, you lack the security clearance to know more. What interests me more is you!"

Merlin puts down the glass, taps on the table, and says:

"Talk about your story, agent Coulson. How you were recruited, and why agree with Fury on entering this intelligence organization?"

Merlin's question was an odd one, Coulson was a rookie, yet he notices something odd. He looks at Merlin, then says:

"Sir, I'm curious, does my story have anything to do with the matter itself?"

"Of course there is!"

Merlin says seriously:

"Officer Fury is undergoing a dangerous mission, he needs enough backup. I have to know whether or not you can be trusted, as to determine whether or not I bring you deeper into this matter...I have to understand who you are before bringing you to the battlefield. Do you understand? Agent Coulson."

"Uhh, makes sense."

The rookie Coulson was confused by Merlin's serious expression and tone, he thinks that Merlin is right, and he wishes to do some good.

So as Merlin watched, he says in a low tone:

"I'm from Wisconsin, I had just graduated high school last year and was about to prepare for college at our farm..."

"Wait!"

Merlin interrupts Coulson's narrative and says:

"You bought back the Coulsons' farm?"

"How...how did you know we sold it before?"

Merlin's question surprises Coulson, so he asks back:

"Only our family knew of this at that time!"

"Because I've met you before! Coulson."

Merlin shrugs and tells Coulson straightforwardly:

"5 years ago, in Wisconsin's Madison Hospital, we met once. You may have already forgotten, I claimed to be your father's friend at that time, back then, while I was yet an agent of the organization, I'd already met Fury, and I know he's been watching you since. You get what I mean?"

Merlin rubs his forehead and mixes the truth with lies:

"I know plenty about your past. But I need you to express your sincerity...keep talking, make me trust you truly."

"Uhh, alright."

There was a fuzzy recollection of such memory of his mind, he'd been thinking that Merlin's face was familiar, and he remembers such an experience when his father was in the hospital 5 years ago.

Now he knows where this sense of familiarity comes from.

So Coulson continues with confusion:

"Fury found me at the farm, he told me that he's been watching me for a while now and he thinks that I have the potential to become an agent. I've always liked to read all sorts of superhero comics, so I wanted to do some good for the country and people; thus, I didn't hesitate for long and accepted Fury's offer and joined the organization, I began training in the base in Nevada."

"And?"

Merlin lowers his head and asks lightly:

"Anyone is always looking for something when they make decisions. Coulson, in your time of joining the organization and becoming an agent, have you found it?"

"I don't get what you mean, sir."

Nervousness flashes in Coulson's eyes as he says:

"I simply want to do some good, which officer Fury told me I could do more of once I join the organization..."

"What I mean is..."

Merlin raises his head, presses his glasses, and looks at Coulson, saying:

"Your personal agenda for becoming an agent! Is it to satisfy your inner desire to become a hero? Or is it...to search for something that's been lost?"

Under Merlin's gaze, agent Coulson moves his body uneasily, the two maintain this silence until a minute later, agent Coulson raises his head, looks at Merlin, and says:

"Yes."

"My father experienced a disaster 5 years ago, he's been in a coma for 2 whole years after the car accident, I thought that he would never be able to wake up again. But during the 3rd Spring, my father miraculously opened his eyes...though he'll only be on a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

"But his awakening made me and my mother very happy. We once thought that this was a blessing from our prayers, but...my father told us that it wasn't!"

Agent Coulson places his finger on the table and looks at Merlin, something else flashes in his eyes as he says:

"My father told me that he should've died, but someone saved him. He can't remember anything about that person, but he knows that that person was very important to him, and the Coulsons; he told me that that person paid a heavy toll to bring him back from the dead."

"He wants me to find him! Father wants me to find him by all means...this sounds weird, right? Sir, but I could feel that what my father was saying was right. Yes, you're right, I do have a personal agenda for joining the organization."

Coulson lets out a breath, looks at Merlin, and says:

"I want to find the person who helped us."

Coulson's self-narration caused Merlin's emotions to swing.

But he remained expressionless; a dozen seconds later, he nods to Coulson and says:

"Good, you've passed! Rookie, you'll follow me from now on."

"Let's go save Fury!"

"Let's go...do some good!"

 

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