57. Banquet(1/2)
Merlin received an invitation.
The address above is on a commercial street in the Manhattan area, not far from Hell's Kitchen.
The sender of the opening invitation was an organization called Mainland Hotel. Merlin had never heard of it before. However, after carefully checking the invitation, Merlin knew who sent it.
The invitation letter is printed, but there is a line of handwritten words at the end of the signature.
“Looking forward to your visit.”
A sentence without beginning or end, but the beautiful font with a hint of sharpness was seen by Meilin before.
“Talia…”
He threw the invitation letter in his hand on the table, and he said:
"This restless woman, the recovery of the Assassin League has just improved a little. What are her ideas?"
"But, it's okay to go and have a look."
With this idea, Merlin made the decision.
s..l.d. Currently, it is a cooperative relationship with the Assassin Alliance. The "eyes" hidden in all walks of life in Talia continue to summarize the information of the hidden and dangerous radical mutants, and then transfer it to Merlin.
In exchange, Merlin acquiesced their position under the new order of the alien world promoted by S..l.d.
The Assassin Alliance, which had suffered heavy damage and had greatly reduced its power, also took the express train of rapid recovery because of this kindness. At least in North America, their power has developed very quickly.
New York is the headquarters of the Assassin League in North America, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Miami, which have S..L.D. branches, and Assassin League has also established branches locally.
In Europe, due to the friendly relationship between Merlin and Gatler, the European base of the Assassin Alliance also received some "care". Their forces there started their activities again after a period of dormant.
In short, Talia took over the power of the demon leader Lars Al Gul. This ambitious woman was very lucky. Under Merlin's protection, all her plans were initially rewarded. After experiencing the most stormy period, Talia has firmly taken the throne of the master of ninja.
Talia is really a very smart woman. She is different from her father. She does not have the powerful force and strong personal charm of the Demon Head. She knows that she needs to use the power of Merlin and S.H.I.E.D. to complete the revival of the Assassin Alliance. Therefore, at least during this period, Talia almost refuses everyone's request for Merlin.
Whether it is tracing the remnants of Hydra or looking for radical mutants, the second Assassin Alliance under Commander Talia helped a lot.
Their powerful information collection ability has saved Merlin's agents from tracking clues a lot of time.
This kind of cooperation between each other is mutually beneficial, but this is temporary. After the Assassin League becomes stronger, SHIELD will inevitably find a way to put shackles on this organization that is operating in the dark.
But that's what happened in the future. At least now, both sides are still in the honeymoon period.
"I don't know if that woman will invite Bruce."
Merlin picked up another document at hand and looked through it while thinking:
"Maybe the old love between them will be rekindled? There is also Damien who is sandwiched between them, haha, it's very interesting to think about it."
"However, it seems that this banquet will be attended by a female companion."
Merlin rubbed her forehead:
"I don't know where Elsa is now... Oh, forget it, take Hill."
———————————————
A few days later, another weekend came.
Merlin, who had a decent black suit, drove her two sisters to the opening site of the newly built mainland hotel.
By the time they arrived at that place, Agent Maria Hill was already waiting for them there.
"Hill, this dress is perfect for you."
Merlin opened the car door and looked at Agent Maria Hill who was wearing a long black dress, holding a clutch, and doing hair and makeup. He praised without any falsehood:
"You're dressing up beautifully today."
"Yeah?"
Hill was a little uncomfortable and plied the tight long skirt. As an internal agent, Hill did not often conduct field operations, and she was not as natural as Natasha, who could naturally integrate into various environments.
She always wears a capable uniform and doesn't participate in entertainment activities much. Dressing like today is also very uncommon for Hill.
But Merlin is right, Hill tonight is indeed very feminine.
"Really, don't be so nervous."
Merlin reached out to Hill, who hesitated for a moment and also stretched out his hand to Merlin's arm. The two looked like a couple.
“Take it as work.”
He said to Hill beside him:
"You are an excellent agent, and I believe you can complete it perfectly."
"Um."
Hill took a deep breath to calm her emotions, she said to Merlin:
"Director Fury asked me to observe this force, and he was also very curious about the Assassin League."
"I will refer you to Talia."
Merlin looked at the hotel with a brightly decorated light in front of him and said softly:
"I believe that the cunning woman is also looking forward to your arrival."
Since Talia gave Merlin openly, it proves that the new ninja master did not mind having more and more in-depth exchanges and cooperation with S.H.E.L.D.
Of course, Merlin would not bring Fury to the banquet directly. On the one hand, Fury was very busy and probably couldn't take time. On the other hand, it was a bit strange that two men came to the banquet.
"He's really fickle."
Behind Merlin and Hill, Lorna, wearing a beautiful dress, whispered to Riven, who looked cold next to her:
"Elsa, Zatanna, and this Hill, and Carol in his diary..."
"They are just colleagues."
Riven glanced at Agent Hill who was talking and laughing with Merlin. Her cold tone was also a little dissatisfied, and she said:
"It's their job, but he'd better be restrained tonight."
"Let's go and stare at him."
Two little girls like dolls followed Merlin. Lorna grabbed Merlin's other hand and looked around curiously. I have to say that the hotel run by Talia is really good only from the appearance.
It is not as luxurious as other high-end hotels. It adheres to the decorative style of the Assassin League. It has a different flavor in its low-key and restrained state.
Its entrance is not big, and it can only accommodate 4 people passing by side. After entering the hotel, there is a long aisle covered with carpets. The lights above also appear gentle, a little dim, and not so dazzling.
On the walls around the hotel lobby, there are various murals, and reliefs from Europe, Africa and Asia give the hall a touch of humanity.
The opening ceremony held in Talia did not seem to invite too many people to watch the ceremony, but for agents like Merlin and Hill, they could easily see the strong background behind the mainland hotel from these invited people.
As Merlin's eyes turned, the identity information of the invited guests around me continued to appear on Icarus' lenses. After connecting to the S.H.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E.E
Merlin pushed his glasses, he turned his head and whispered in Hill's ear:
"There are at least 6 big businessmen from Europe in the hall, as well as executive directors of several famous foundations. I also saw representatives of several senators. Osborne Group, Quinn Group, and... Wayne Group. It seems that Ms. Talia has not been idle in recent years. She has found many strong partners for herself."
“I’m even more curious about what this hotel does?”
Hill stared at the security personnel wearing suits and sunglasses around her. She could feel a solemn temperament from these people, she said:
"Are those all the assassins of the Assassin League? When will these people be able to openly move?"
"This is probably a reform of the way of survival."
Merlin led Hill to the front desk and he whispered:
"It seems that not only us, but the ancient Assassin Alliance, have also begun to change their own form of existence in the new era, and they are working hard to catch up with the changes of the times."
He took out the invitation letter from his pocket and placed it on the front desk.
The bald black deacon in front of him with eyes and eyes picked up the invitation letter, looked at it, then took out a key from the counter with a normal expression and handed it to Merlin respectfully, he said:
"Please go to room 204, where the lady is waiting for you, a distinguished guest."
"Um."
Merlin nodded, he picked up the key, walked towards the elevator with Hill and the children. After a few seconds, the elevator opened, and Merlin saw a very familiar guy.
“Merlin?”
In front of Merlin, Tony in a gray suit was holding the slender waist of a woman in a long red dress. The moment the elevator door opened, the dude said in surprise:
"Why are you here too?"
"What I'm even more curious about is, what are you doing here?"
Merlin asked:
"Do you know where this place is?"
"Of course I know."
Tony snorted, he said:
"That's why I'm here. I have some spare money, and that beautiful lady Talia needs funds and I need some intelligence, so we became friends."
"friend?"
To be continued...