Outside the Mirage

#30: The Plan

Standing in Merlyn's office were a number of people, all of whom did not look like they wanted to be there. Special Agent John Layfield, wearing his brown coat and looking somewhat miserable, was standing in the corner of the room, sipping slowly from a cup of tea; Vanessa was sat on one of the davenports, hands in her hair; Agent-Keeper Nakamura was standing dutifully near the desk, the most calm in the room; Merlyn was sat at his desk, looking over a variety of papers and maps; Deputy-Director Ivan Hanson stood on the other side of the desk, frowning as he looked over the same papers as Merlyn; Agent-Trainee Jordan was pacing around the center of the room, sometimes twisting his mustache as he paced; Senior Agent Chilcott was standing in the door with puffy eyes and anger on her face; Carmichael was sitting on the opposite davenport as Vanessa, waiting patiently for something to happen; Platt was sitting next to Carmichael, clearly uncomfortable; and Special Agent Forsythe was standing in front of the fireplace, texting people. The room was utterly silent apart from the clacking of Forsythe's texting and the dull roar of the fire.

"So Malstrom is protected by an aura imbalance as well as a powerful Wall of Cloaking," Hanson said. "This is all according to Bennett?"

"Yeah," Merlyn said. "Apparently he encountered Malstrom while he was going off the grid. Spent some time with Mavus there while they were training. There's a small shack outside the wall of Malstrom where we can use the Chant of Akadi to get through."

"And we believe we'll be able to break the Wall of Cloaking?" Hanson said.

"Oh, I'll break it like an egg," Forsythe muttered without looking up.

"But even once we're inside, it'll be difficult," Jordan said. "It's not like we're going against ordinary rouge mages. They came here and wiped the floor with us."

"You have the distinct advantage this time of having us," Merlyn countered. "I can beat Mavus."

"Can you?" Hanson asked. "I'm not as sure."

"He can," Vanessa assured. "He almost did it before."

"That's still just him," Layfield said. "They still have Honorfall, Popov, Edwards and Wyvern."

"Plus Henry Handler broke out of the Medical Wing last night," Nakamura said. "Also he brought someone else with him. Someone named Tyler Winget?"

"We arrested him," Vanessa remembered. "Kid with electricity powers."

"Right," Merlyn said. "So they're also there?"

"Most likely," Nakamura said. "This won't be an easy mission."

Merlyn nodded. "Agent-Trainee Moreland and I will certainly be going."

"So will Jordan and I," Layfield said. "We're not going to let them do this to us."

"I want to go," Chilcott said. "Get some justice. It's only right."

"I have to go to break that Wall of Cloaking," Forsythe said. "I'm not sure anyone else here will be able to."

"That's only six," Merlyn said. "They've got seven."

"I might know someone who could help us," Jordan suggested.

"Keep it to yourself," Forsythe said. "These six are plenty. We'll get done what we need to."

Hanson nodded. "Alright. Nakamura and I will get the paperwork set up and we'll get started. Sound good to everyone?"

"Oh yeah," Merlyn said. "This is going to go very well."

The group split up, Hanson, Nakamura and Carmichael leaving the room as the rest gathered into a small circle. "We've got a handful of things that'll need to get handled," Merlyn said. "As we understand it, Honorfall is problematic. He's a Dwarf, but he wears Dwarvish steel armor, meaning simple spells won't work on him."