Near midnight, in the car heading to the departure point, Nick Fury looked up and looked at Merlin in the rearview mirror in the rear seat, saying:

"You look a little tired, what's going on?"

Merlin rubbed her forehead and replied in a low voice:

"Nothing, I just did something bad and then had nightmares."

“Doing bad things?”

A trace of doubt flashed in Fury's eyes:

"What a bad thing?"

Merlin turned his head and looked out the window. After a moment, he spoke:

"Take a wife away from her husband and take a mother away from her children. Last night, I deeply hurt a man."

"Do you know him very well?"

"No, I've never seen it before."

"Do you regret it?"

"No, I saved the girl's life."

"Then what are you worried about?"

""

Merlin was a little annoyed by Fury's continuous problems. He raised his head and said to the officer in front of him:

"To be honest, I don't know either. It may also be nervous. After all, we have to cross the sea and go to the other end of the world to find a female devil who kills without blinking. I think I should be nervous, what do you think?"

"Yeah, it makes sense."

Fury nodded deeply, and he drove into a remote secret airport, turned off the engine, and looked back at Merlin, he said:

"But I don't have time to listen to you telling the sadness of young people now! Be cheer up, rookie. If this mission is screwed up, you can continue to wander with your bag on your back."

"Now, get off!"

Under Fury's scolding, Merlin put on a baseball cap and carried a travel bag, and walked out of Fury's car like a tourist.

In the dark night before him, a small plane was parked a few hundred meters away, and some ground crew members were doing inspections before the plane took off. In the darkness, Merlin could clearly see that at the entrance of the small plane, a tall and thin person was waiting there.

Well, that should be the last member of this operation.

Fury, who was dressed like a tourist, threw the car keys to the agent who was receiving him. He said a few words to the agent in suit and tie, then took a black suitcase from the man and walked towards Merlin.

"Who is that person?"

Merlin followed Fury, and he whined in the direction of the plane. Fury looked up, but he did not have Merlin's night vision ability, so he could only see a blur in front of him.

Therefore, he did not answer Merlin, but instead took Merlin on the ladder of the small plane with the cold attitude a commander should have.

"Sir Fury, long time no see."

When Fury entered the cabin door, a slightly hoarse voice rang in the cabin. The next moment, the lights in the cabin turned on.

A thin and tall guy was standing up from his seat. He had short hair, thin cheeks, slender limbs, and a pair of gray eyes that looked slightly cold-looking.

He was wearing a black sleeveless combat uniform with a combat dagger inserted between his waist, looking shrewd and capable.

And at his feet was a box, and Merlin could feel that the box was placed with some kind of cold weapon made of metal.

"Barton, long time no see."

Fury took a step forward and shook hands with the guy. He turned around and exposed Merlin who was following behind him to the cabin. He said to the person in front of him:

"This is Merlin, the new excellent agent who joins us. This time he will act with us. Merlin, this is Clint Patton, the most powerful operation expert in the Strategic Science Legion, nicknamed "Hawkeye", and is also my most trusted agent and one of my best friends."

"Hello, Merlin."

Agent Patton stretched out his hand to Merlin with a expressionless face, and Merlin keenly noticed the cold scrutiny in the agent's eyes.

He looked at the hand in front of him, and he smiled, reached out and grabbed Patton's left hand, and he said:

"Hello, Clint."

The next moment, hold both hands together friendly and exert force at the same time.

"Click"

With a slight sound from the bones of the hand, Hawkeye Patton's face changed slightly, and even his smile became a little stiff. He looked at Meilin, who had a squinting eyes and smiled. This guy's hand was so strong!

"Come on, sit down!"

Fury took out two bottles of water from the small refrigerator in the cabin and said something to the two subordinates in front of him.

Merlin and Patton took back each other's hands, Merlin moved his five fingers, while Patton placed his left hand behind and shook it hard.

"Buzz"

After the three of them sat down, the propeller of the small plane began to rotate quickly, and the plane slowly turned into the runway and prepared to take off. In the cabin, Fury picked up a map of Europe and placed it on the table. He glanced at the two people beside him and said in a serious tone:

"You should all know about the operation mission this time. We are going to Europe to persuade a 'co-worker' to surrender."

"The location is here, a small town in Eastern Europe, Sokovia."

Fury's fingers clicked on the map, he took out a photo from his pocket, placed it on the map, and continued:

"And the target person, named Natasha Romanov, is probably her pseudonym. She has been one of the most active top agents in the former Soviet intelligence agency's Red House in the past few decades. Her footsteps are almost all over the world, destroying many carefully planned agent operations by the CIA."

"Especially during the early Cold War, Natasha even sneaked into North America several times to instigate several scientists related to the Manhattan Project for the former Soviet Union. It is said that in the 1970s, she took away some confidential information from Langley, but this statement has never been positively confirmed by the CIA."

"Wait, I have a problem."

The moment the small plane was pounding and taking off, Merlin picked up the water cup and took a sip of water.

He picked up the photo on the map. In the black and white photo, there was a lady wearing sunglasses, a coat, and high heels. Judging from her appearance alone, this elegant lady seemed like a supermodel and could not tell that she would be a dangerous agent.

Merlin turned the photo in reverse, and he looked at Fury:

“When was this photo taken?”

"It was probably 3 years ago, in a small town in Crimea."

Fury said, and Merlin frowned and asked again:

"But you said just now that Natasha was active in the early days of the Cold War. Even if she served the former Soviet Union since she was a teenager, then if I was not wrong, she would be at least 40 years old this year, right?"

Merlin shook the photo in his hand and said:

"Are you sure you didn't get the wrong photo?"

"Yes, that's Natasha."

Fury pointed to the photo in Merlin's hand and explained:

"We learned from some agents who defected to the former Soviet Union that there is a special drug in the spy agency 'Red House' that can delay aging. Super agents like Natasha must have been injected with this drug. Of course, there is also a saying that Natasha is actually a mutant, but this speculation does not support it."

"Um."

Merlin nodded, looking at the photo in his hand, he said:

"It seems that our opponent is an old witch."

"Don't be deceived by her appearance, she's in danger."

Hawkeye Patton, who had been silent, also interrupted at this time:

"Three years ago, I just joined the Strategic Science Legion and encountered Natasha when I was performing field missions in Eastern Europe. She probably accidentally broke into the trap we set in advance, but she played with our entire operation team in applause with her own strength. If we weren't lucky enough, we would eventually be buried in that city."

"That's why I'll get you to this mission, Patton."

Fury said seriously:

"You have fought with Natasha, and you know her methods very well. And the news I received is that Natasha is now being chased by her own people, and the last place she has moved is in Sokovia. This is our opportunity."

"Being chased by one's own people?"

Merlin asked curiously:

"Has she betrayed her own organization?"

"No."

Fury shook his head, he looked at Merlin, a strange light flashed in his eyes, he said:

"Natasha not only did not betray the 'Red House', on the contrary, at the moment when many of her companions defected, she still stubbornly refused our solicitation several times. She was still very loyal to her country and organization, but unfortunately, her loyalty has become a burden."

"Then why did she get?"

"Because she knows too many secrets that should not be revealed, and she is unwilling to forget those secrets, and is stubborn and unwilling to change them. For her deteriorating organization, the more loyal she is to her former beliefs, the greater her threat, like a time bomb."

Patton closed his eyes and told the answer to the point.

This slightly cruel truth made Merlin silent for a moment. The agent industry has always been tied to secrets, and Natasha's story also made Merlin's understanding of agents deepen.

It seems that knowing too many secrets is indeed not a good thing.

"Barton said it right."

Fury added:

"Because of the sudden collapse of the former Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and the changes in the world pattern, the complex and extremely large intelligence departments within that country lost their mission and resources. In order to survive in death, they had to seek dangerous 'transformation' in their confusion about the future."

"Including the Red House, the Red Scorpion and even the mysterious 'Leviathan', etc., they are all changing their positioning and starting to get rid of the stereotypes of the state machine. These intelligence organizations that originally served the state have begun to give birth to their own ideas. It is hard to say whether it is good or bad. But it is certain that this is an excellent opportunity for us."

A smile flashed across Fury's dark face, and he said:

"For Natasha's recruitment, it's just an attempt. In the next few years, there will be many such actions. Just like the "paper clip" action led by Ms. Page Carter at the end of World War II, our predecessors used the power of Germany to strengthen themselves. Now, what we have to do is to do it again according to their ideas!"

Nick Fury stood up and said to Patton beside him:

"Barton, I'll have another thing to ask you for it."

"Merlin is an absolute newcomer. He has some special powers and can help a lot. But he is a rookie, impulsive, reckless, and has all the characteristics that a rookie should have. All his understanding of the agent profession comes from 6 months of agent training, and he still has a lot to learn."

"I'm not as bad as you said, Fury."

Merlin retorted with some dissatisfaction:

"You are embarrassing me in front of my new friend."

Fury ignored Merlin's complaints. He looked at Merlin very seriously and said:

"Barton is the agent I recruited by myself and the best agent I have ever met. Merlin, I hope you can obey Patton's teachings and work together to complete this recruitment mission."

As he spoke, Fury looked at the time and said to the two people in front of him:

"After 30 minutes, the flight arrived at the designated location. Sokovia has been in chaos recently, and all flights have been grounded and are under air control. We cannot just enter there with such a big swagger."

"Then how do we get over?"

Merlin asked, Fury pointed at his feet, a strange smile flashed across his face, and he said:

"By the boat! There is a cargo ship waiting for you on the high seas. After 3 days, we will meet in Sokovia."

"Don't you go with us?"

Merlin asked again, and Fury took out an identification certificate from his pocket and shook it in front of Merlin. He said:

"My identity is an officer at the U.S. Embassy in Sokovia. He enjoys diplomatic immunity and has a special flight to take me to the embassy. Merlin, have you forgotten what you have learned as soon as you left the Agent School? Article 7 of the Agent Code!"

"You must have a trump card at any time"

Merlin answered subconsciously, and Fury shrugged:

"I will contact Natasha again through official channels. It would be best if I can convince her to join us, but if I fail, then you guys who are hiding in the dark."

"It's my trump card!"

Merlin suddenly realized, and he said:

“Just like fishing”

Fury smiled and patted Merlin on the shoulder:

"You are right, both light and dark, and you are prepared with both hands, just like fishing."

Thirty minutes later, the small plane in the night was hovering on the high seas. The door of the aircraft cabin was opened. Merlin, who was carrying a parachute, stood at the entrance of the cabin, and he looked at the vast sea below.

The cold wind blew on his face, and he looked back at Fury. Fury, who had already changed into a military uniform, was waving goodbye to him in a friendly manner. But Hawkeye Patton, who was also carrying a parachute, looked at him calmly.

A hunting game between the same kind is about to begin, and this will be the first "hunting" of the cub Merlin.

He was a little nervous and excited. The memories of the past were still disturbing him, but Merlin knew that he should continue to move forward. From here, he entered his new life. Maybe the road ahead is dark, but it must be very exciting.

The next second, he took a deep breath, rushed forward, and jumped down from the plane.

It's like a raven spreading its wings.

Merlin Riley tonight!
Chapter completed!