Melinda's self-introduction didn't last very long.
Because Merlin asked her a sharp question.
"Melinda, I'm curious, what line of work are your parents in?"
Merlin puts down Melinda's file and supports his hands on the table, his eyes behind the glasses look at the young girl and he says softly
"And, why did you choose to become an agent? Your file shows that you've won the Figure Skating International Award before, a pretty girl like you would have more potential becoming an athlete, or an actor, than an agent."
"Can I not answer this question?"
Melinda's expression was tangled, this made Coulson next to her let out an expression of curiosity and surprise.
The two were good friends who met each other in the academy, in the extended to 8 months of training, Coulson had never seen Melinda, who was generous and had high executive power, make a tangled expression like this.
"No, you must answer."
Merlin straightens his face and says:
"You may not understand the special affairs my op team will be responsible for, agent Coulson may know some more about this."
"A lot of unexpected situations will occur when facing the special affairs we'll be dealing with, I must understand my subordinates...you can refuse, Melinda, but I'll reject your file back to director Fury."
"May."
Coulson pats on Melinda's left arm lightly with concern, the latter grits her teeth and lifts her head, looking at Merlin's sharp eyes that seemed to penetrate into one's very soul.
A few seconds later, she says in a low tone unwillingly:
"My dad is a businessman, my mom...she's a senior agent of the SSR, she served under Miss Carter's wing for over 25 years. I chose to become an agent because when I graduated college, Miss Carter came and told me I had a special talent, she persuaded me to join SHIELD."
"I see."
Merlin's inner confusion is solved, he nods and asks:
"Do you know Miss Sharon?"
"I do."
Melinda says expressionlessly:
"We grew up in the same community, Sharon joined the entrance exam of SHIELD's academy, perhaps she'll become one of SHIELD's agents in one or two more years."
"Very good."
Merlin picks up the file in his hand and returns it to the two newbies in front of him, he looks at his wristwatch and says to them:
"Now go do your onboarding procedures, coincidentally we have a new mission this afternoon at 3 pm; we'll meet up at St Agnes Monastery in Hell's Kitchen then, remember to bring your service weapon."
"You two, any questions?"
Merlin finishes the cup of water in his hand, he stands up, takes out his handbag, then looks at the two newbies in front of him.
They had no questions.
"Then I'll see you at noon."
Merlin waves at them, he then pushes open the door and leaves.
As they see Merlin off, in the office, agent Melinda turns to look at her friend and whispers:
"He's the Merlin who took you on a mission before? And he's participated in the Kree war? He doesn't look like it...he's too young, and he's different from all the other agents we've met thus far."
"That's because you've never seen him on a mission before."
Coulson recalls his experiences in Pegasus Base and Louisiana, he says to Melinda:
"Our term of trainees would've been able to graduate in 6 months, but why did we get an extended training for 2 more months? It's because Officer Merlin took down nearly 40 trainees on his own...so Director Fury thinks that we still lack training."
"And he also personally captured a Kree Starforce Captain, a lot of people know of this. Lastly, Officer Merlin is...how do I put it? I think he has some other strange abilities."
Coulson frowns, he packs up his files while saying to Melinda:
"I've seen it myself, he disappeared before my very eyes before. Instructor Natasha and Barton both praise Merlin highly, saying he's an excellent field agent, I think that this shows a lot."
"Sharp as he is."
Melinda purses her lips, the young girl says:
"I just feel like he's odd."
"Not as odd as you, you never told me your mother was an agent."
Coulson says to Melinda with surprise:
"I'd always thought that you were just an ordinary girl, it's quite surprising that you're one with background too."
"Come on, Coulson."
Melinda didn't want to walk about this question, she throws her short hair and says:
"It's not good having a background in this line of work, this means you need to work extra harder to be acknowledged by your peers. I didn't mean to hide, but my mom said that she didn't want me to get special treatment for her sake before I become a senior agent."
"Why?"
Coulson asks curiously, Melinda's expression changes slightly:
"Because a flying bullet won't go around you just because you have a background. Miss Carter said so herself, it's not wise to be overly famous in this line of work."
"Come on, let's go do our onboarding procedures, then we'll go out and have a meal to celebrate our onboarding. I don't want to miss my first official mission in the afternoon."
Merlin picked up young Erik from St Agnes Monastery and asked Father Paul about young Erik's recent school grades.
This 14-year-old kid he had adopted may not be a genius, but he's an excellent student. Though Merlin had neglected him over the past few times due to sudden incidents, he's taken good care of himself and had scored excellent grades for 5 continuous tests.
This greatly satisfied Merlin, so he brought young Erik for a lobster meal and bought him some newly released games as commendation.
And as the time neared 3-pm, Merlin dropped off young Erik at his cousin May's place before driving towards St Agnes Monastery.
Coulson and Melinda were already waiting for him at the gates.
They drove here.
Merlin could immediately see the car he had not seen for 6 years.
It was Lola.
A red classic 1962 Corvette, it's been licensed and well-maintained.
Merlin walks forward and strokes on the car, a hint of nostalgia flashes in his eyes under the glasses.
"Nice car."
Merlin says so to Coulson next to the car, he then takes out two clips loaded with holy silver bullets and throws them to Coulson and Melinda:
"Equip these! Then come with me."
Coulson did not hesitate and quickly changed his clip. Melinda looked at the strange silver bullets and asked Merlin:
"What is this? Sir."
"Holy silver bullets."
Merlin replies simply, he then waves his hand and signals for them to get on the car.
Lola was a vintage sports car with 2 seats and could not fit 3 people, so Merlin was driving his own car for this mission.
Merlin had received benefits after Fury became director.
He received a brand new Ford, it was black, streamline-designed with high horsepower, and most importantly, it was low-key.
Merlin started the car, made a turn, and drove into the most chaotic part of Hell's Kitchen. On the back seat, Melinda was still asking:
"What are holy silver bullets? Sir, are these bullets special ammo?"
"They're weapons against irregulars."
Merlin holds the steering wheel while saying to the newbie behind him:
"I won't repeat what you should've been exhorted during your onboarding. What I'm telling you is that my team deals with problems normal people can't deal with. The irregulars hiding amongst the crowd, the creatures born from the darkness, some strange supernatural occurrences; they're the things you'll be facing from here on out."
"Normal bullets can barely harm them, but holy silver bullets can. I'll be supplying these holy silver bullets to you for this mission."
Merlin says softly:
"The next time you collect your holy silver bullets, show them your ID and state the reason for collection; the logistics department will allot to you a certain number of holy silver bullets. But holy silver made by these machines are very formulaic, they have no soul...so it's best you spend some time to learn making your own holy silver weapons."
"Isn't this a bit too idealistic?"
Melinda pouts her mouth and loads the holy silver bullets into her gun.
Hearing her complaint, Merlin smiles and says:
"You can accept the existence of irregulars in the world, why not accept idealism? Listen to me, newbie; when you're facing those irregulars head-on, materialism won't protect you."
A dozen minutes later, Merlin stops his car at the entrance of the famous Josie's Bar in Hell's Kitchen. Merlin then brings Coulson and Melinda into this slightly worn-out bar.
It was currently afternoon, there were very few people in the bar and the atmosphere was rather light.
Merlin looks around and walks towards the edge of the bar, there was a man in a yellow coat sitting there while drinking alone.
"Alright, ConJob, what trouble are you in this time?"
Merlin sits opposite to the drinking man, he looks at the haggard Constantine.
The guy was now SHIELD's advisor on supernatural events, receiving an allowance from SHIELD every month, and occasionally trying to cheat some funds from Fury.
That half-dead detective agency of his is still running, supposedly business has been well, and he had gained some reputation after solving some tricky supernatural events, at least, reputation in Manhattan.
Some call him the 'Exorcist Detective', of course, most people call him 'ConJob', which is quite the fitting name, to be honest.
Due to Constantine's extravagant spending habits, along with how this debaucherous man would always mess with some troublesome women, Merlin would always think that he's rather down-and-out regardless of when or where he sees him.
The two had grudges once, but then they became colleagues after the half-demon incident.
The two of them weren't exactly in a good relationship, but they were familiar with each other.
"It's you."
Constantine raises his glass, looks at Merlin, and immediately loses interest. His gaze lands on the two newbies behind him, and quickly focuses on Melinda's face; that gaze continued downwards, stopping at the girl's chest for a few seconds before landing on her slender waist.
This very impolite gaze attracts Melinda's angry glare.
"I was wondering who Fury would be sending to deal with this mess...so it was you."
ConJob retracts his aggressive gaze, he reaches into the pockets on his coat and eventually throws to Merlin a shabby piece of paper.
Merlin takes the paper and spreads it out in his hand, finding it to be an odd symbol.
A crimson red ring with an upside-down pentagon.
The symbol of a devil from hell, in magic knowledge, pentagons are usually related to these kinds of stuff.
"I found this on the edge of Hell's Kitchen."
Constantine waves his hand and calls for another glass, he then tells Merlin:
"A bunch of gangsters tattooed this onto their body, I suppose those idiots know no the meaning behind this symbol. But its appearance in Manhattan isn't accidental, especially after Rabid Morris' death, the supernatural powers in Hell's Kitchen took a hit...this symbol appearing may mean that some bigshot has its eyes on this place."
"This is your job, Constantine!"
Merlin frowns:
"We pay you every month, not so you can shove your duties to others. You can't just throw a lead like this to me, any other clues?"
"Hell, you've got a lot of requests!"
ConJob scolds then says:
"There's a warehouse at the intersection of the seventh and thirteenth streets, that's the gangsters' headquarters, you can go take a look there. Maybe you'll find something there. As for why I'm shoving this work out..."
He glances at Merlin and says:
"Your ancestry is 'hell', Merlin. Shouldn't you be the one dealing with your fellows?"
Constantine's words made Coulson and Melinda let out a confused expression, but Merlin's expression turns silent and serious; moments later, he says to Constantine:
"Alright, I'll handle this. But I'm dissatisfied by your attitude, so I won't be paying for your drink this time, figure it out yourself!"
"Hey man! Don't be so cheap!"
ConJob's expression becomes colorful as he tells Merlin:
"I've been a little tight lately, how about this...you help me pay for my drink, and I'll tell you something you're sure to be interested in, how about it?"
"..."
Merlin looks at the smiling Constantine suspiciously, moments later, he tasks a few dollar notes onto the table. ConJob glances at it and shakes his head, saying:
"This much isn't enough, I owe quite a few now meals now."
"Hell!"
Merlin scolds, he then takes out a few more notes and places them onto the table.
ConJob then nods with satisfaction, he looks around, lowers his tone, and says to Merlin:
"Be careful for the time being...if you can, don't use magic, or go hide for a while."
"The Magical Congress has you in their sights."
