The Jester

The Jester is the fourth part in the Loaded March series. It was uploaded to Archive of Our Own on September 27, 2011. It consists of 43,740 words.
Read it here.
==Summary==
The Jester has resurfaced, but The Directory wants to get their hands on him before the CIA does. Excalibur faces an entirely different level of danger that Arthur worries he hasn't prepared them for. Merlin is terrified - not that he doesn't think he can't protect his team, but of what will happen if he does.
==Plot==
The Directory want Excalibur to take out "Trickler", so they fly them to Algiers undercover. Merlin and Arthur probably would have had sex in the hotel if Uther hadn't rung Arthur. 
Everyone at the club flirts with Merlin - Arthur doesn't like this. Arthur gets put under a compulsion but Merlin gets him out of it. Excalibur end up in a fight with Trickler and his goons using magic against them. Merlin gets attacked and caught, and barely escapes with his life.
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After the team gets back from R&R, Arthur pushes his team like crazy, upping their PT time. The team finally revolts, and Merlin and Arthur show them the videos of Trickler doing magic and the American Special Forces team getting blown to pieces by some magical force. (Around this time Arthur is getting more and more suspicious about whether or not Merlin has magic). The team, mildly freaked out, discuss magic. Bohrs is an idiot. Merlin feels like an outsider and almost tells Perce and Arthur that he has magic.
In this part, we also meet Gilli Merriam, an annoying little shit whose job is to look after the crack box that Merlin built.  Merlin gives him the break down on the box, and Gilli is already annoying.
Bayard and Arthur have a little chat about magic, The Directory, and missions. Then Bayard meets the team and is way too curious about Merlin. Bayard gives the team a mission: get Sam Trickler. The team heads to Algiers to attend a gala for weapons dealers. Arthur and Merlin go undercover as a couple, with Arthur being the dominant personality in their relationship. Merlin is the tech genius who has been couch surfing Europe and has ended up on Arthur's. Upon seeing Merlin in his new 'uniform' (clothing that is a bit too tight), Arthur cannot control himself and marks Merlin. (Merlin dies a little with want.)
At the party, everyone takes interest in Arthur, since he is well-known as the heir of Pendragon Consulting and is now on the bad side of his father. People slowly take interest in Merlin as they discover (through members of MI-5) how much of a tech genius Merlin is. Merlin scares the shite out of one lady when he talks about cracking all of the phones at the gala.
Arthur is possessive and keeps Merlin on a short leash.
Trickler takes an interest in Merlin and is a bit intimidated by Arthur, especially when Arthur starts to egg Trickler on. Trickler puts a compulsion on Arthur, that is broken when Trickler changes his focus to another magic trick. When Arthur leaves after putting Trickler in his place, Trickler follows. Cue car chase and magic fight. Excalibur, without magical backup, is in trouble. Merlin gets taken and is severely hurt, but still manages to work some magic to save his team.
Arthur is devastated when he gets Merlin back and won't let anyone carry Merlin but himself. After Merlin is patched up, we end with a little UST.
==Quotes==
He could still remember the way Merlin had looked at him once, innocent and open, full of blinding trust and impossible loyalty, as if betrayal was a concept unfathomable to him, as if the mere thought of doing something that might hurt Arthur was tantamount to ripping out his own heart and soul in the process. - Arthur thinking about Merlin. 
Arthur pulled Merlin to him roughly, grabbing Merlin's face with his hand. "One last time. You're not paid to think. You're paid to do what I tell you to do. If I want you cracking government encryption, bank security, military files, you'll do it. If it's bending over your computer with your pants around your ankles, you'll do it. If it's getting my father's prototype plans out of the mainframe, you have it done yesterday. Do you understand?" - Arthur (in his undercover role as an spoiled prat) to Merlin (undercover as Arthur's boy toy). 
Arthur was mad for Merlin. It wasn't the sort of attraction that resulted from the need for a one-night pull, either. It was grown out of trust, reliance, familiarity, friendship (however rocky), and love, though the last one boggled Arthur's mind. Love. - Arthur thinking about Merlin. 
==Series Timeline==
Preceded By:	Followed By:
R&R 	Avalon
Category:Parts