Winter's War || The Winter Soldier

Chapter Twelve: Cut Off One Head

Music is "Pictures" by Madi Diaz.

Picture is young Mark Strong as Merlin.

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CHAPTER TWELVE: Cut Off One Head

{July 27, 1981 -- Thirty-Three Years Ago}

Merlin walks ahead of Galahad and I, leading us to what I assume is the Kingsman logistics room. It's a surprisingly high-tech room, the atmosphere very different to that of the rest of the base. Merlin takes a seat in front of a set of large monitors. Around the circular room, similar stations are lined in a circle, but they're all empty. We're the only three in the room.

"Where are the others?" I ask, nodding to the other stations.

"There are no others as of now," Galahad replies in a proper tone. "The Kingsman are very particular about the people we recruit. As of now, Merlin is the only man behind the curtain. He runs all of our missions from this station right here."

"All of them?" Galahad nods. Surprised, I turn to Merlin and ask, "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," Merlin replies with a smile.

When he turns back to his screen, pulling up collected intelligence with a flick of his finger, I glower at Galahad and whisper, "You have a bloody eighteen year old running your entire operation?"

Galahad almost looks shocked at my reaction. "He is very capable, Sergeant Barnes. His age has nothing to do with his ability."

"Oh, I'm sure he's good, but all alone? I don't know how many agents you have here in the Kingsmen, but there's got to be more people who can be 'behind the curtain,' as you put it. Merlin can't possibly do it all alone."

Galahad places both hands on the handle of his umbrella, framed eyes staring directly into mine. "He has for nearly a year, and he will continue to do so until we find others to aid him. Finding and training Kingsmen isn't easy."

I place my hands on my hips, staring him down. "How many agents do you have?"

"That's classified--"

"--Bullshit. If you want my help, you need to start being honest with me. How many?"

Galahad hesitates a moment as he stares at me, almost vetting me with his eyes. After he sums that I can be trusted with this precious information, he looks away and responds, "There are positions for twelve senior members. This includes my title, Galahad, and Merlin's title. Arthur is the head. There is also a Lancelot, Percival, Gawain, Bedivere, Gareth, Bors, Pellinor, Morholt, and Lucan. Of those twelve, only seven are currently filled."

My eyes widen. All this talk of the Kingsman and they only have seven current members. "Only seven?" I nearly shout.

Merlin flinches, turning over his shoulder to defend Galahad's words. "We had a wee bit of an infestation problem since the end of the War. I'm sure you know of HYDRA."

The name of the organization that took the lives of thousands of people--among those being Bucky and Steve--causes my fists to clench and my eyes to narrow. Galahad gauges my reaction and says, "Our last Gareth nearly wiped us out, and our previous Lancelot killed Pellinor. And after we discovered that Morholt and Bors were collecting intelligence on us, I was forced to end them as well."

"So that leaves you with Bedivere, Percival, Lucan, and Gawain. So besides you two and Arthur, you have four other Kingsmen in play?"

Galahad nods solemnly. "We're trying to replace them, slowly but surely, but the only one we have a candidate for thus far is Lancelot. She's still a trainee, but she'll be helping us with this mission because we need all hands on deck."