"Father," Wyatt stated. "There is one other thing I wish to show you. A plan I worked out with help from some of your most trusted generals."
Miro now rubbed his chin, intrigued that is adopted son had taken extra steps to ensure of the plans success. "You have peaked my interest my son. What is it you wish to show me?"
Wyatt now smiled devilishly as he gazed at his father. "Summon Romi father," he grinned. "We're going on a road trip."
********************
Merlin sighed contentedly as he now sipped his tea. Things had been relatively busy lately within the Magic Shop. Business was up, his daughter Kellie was progressing in her magical studies, even his granddaughter Ann was now adapting to life in her adopted timeline. While it was difficult at times focusing on multiple timeliness, he was managing. Kellie, Gloria, and others under his employ allowed him to operate the Magic Shop successfully. It just meant that the shop was now a Nexus point of all realities.
"Merlin Pendragon?"
Merlin paused, curiously gazing at the man that now entered the shop. He didn't look like the usual customers that frequented the shop. "Yes I'm Merlin," he responded. "What may I help you with?"
Detective Matt Warner now presented Merlin with a search warrant, the ancient wizard utterly befuddled. "We have a search warrant for the premises."
"A search warrant," Merlin asked. "What are you looking for?"
Matt said nothing, holding the door as several police officers now entered the shop. Officers Cooper and Jenkins were the last to enter, approaching the detective in charge of the investigation. "Cooper, Jenkins, check out the back."
Jenkins and Cooper nodded, a devilish smile crossing their faces as they brushed past Merlin. The two human officers had become the familiars of Wyatt. They would serve the vampire prince in order to be rewarded. They were servants, promised a reward as the faithful human slaves of the vampire nation.
"Detective what is this about," Merlin asked. "If you tell me I may be able to assist."
"We have reason to believe you're operating a drug factory Mr. Pendragon," Matt stated. "Now, you want to do this the easy way or the hard way? Hate to mess your store up."
"Drug factory," Merlin exclaimed. "Preposterous!"
As Merlin and Detective Warner now argued, Cooper and Jenkins made their way towards Merlins chemistry lab. Wyatt had tasked his two familiard with taking Merlin out. While killing the ancient wizard was impossible, there were other ways law enforcement could deal with the wizard.
Finding the chemistry lab, the two Officers paused. Chemicals slowly sizzled on bunson burners, various powders spread across the heavy wooden table. The two families couldn't help but be stunned as they gazed at an actual boiling cauldron.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it," Jenkins whispered. Cooper nodded, wearily looking at a vial filled with a thick green liquid. Cooper couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what that liquid would do to a person. Turning to Jenkins he now whispered to his partner. "Do you have the test?"
Jenkins nodded, producing a field testing kit. The kit was used by the department to test unknown substances in the field, most often to determine what type of drugs they were dealing with. This test though had been altered. No matter what was put into it, the test would come back positive. Quickly scrapping some powder off the table, the two familiars now tested it. A fiendish smile spreading across their faces as the test turned blue.
"Detective!"
Warner now turned, watching as his two officers now approached with the false positive. Warner simply nodded as he gazed at the test. "We found this in a lab setup in the back," Cooper stated. "Whole lot of crazy stuff back there."
"Merlin Pendragon," Warner stated, withdrawing his cuffs. "You are under arrest."
Merlin gawked, shocked as he was roughly spun around, his hands cuffed behind his deck. "Arrest," he exclaimed. "On what charge?"
"Operating a drug factory for one," Warner smirked. "The field test says this is fentanyl."
"Thats ridiculous," Merlin protested. "I don't sell drugs." Warner could only sigh, turning to the other officers in the shop. "Bag it up fellas! We're confiscating everything."
******************
Miro now watched from the back of his tinted limo as the great Merlin was now placed in a squad car like a common criminal. An astonished smirk fixed on the vampire lords face. "What did you do?"
Wyatt simply grinned, reaching for a bottle of brandy. Taking two glasses, he now poured his father a glass before handing it to him.
"Do you remember the talk we had about the wizards," Wyatt asked. "Specifically about Merlin and his meddling ways?"
"Of course," Miro scoffed. "The wizard is a pest. The power of a God at his fingertips and he pretends to be simply a man. A waste of power."
"Yet," Wyatt stated. "As you told me, he is a powerful adversary. If the wizards were desperate enough, they would turn to him for assistance."
"Correct my son," Miro replied. "And I fear if he was involved than our chances for success would drastically decrease."
"I thought the same way father," Wyatt said softly. "Which got me thinking, how do you take a god off the board?"
Miro now took a sip from his glass, relishing its taste as he gazed at his adopted son. Wyatt appeared to have outdone himself in his machinations.
"This wasn't easy," Wyatt said. "It started when I was able to sway two local police officers to our side. They've been feeding me information as I have also done. Getting them to elicit suspicion on Merlin and his Magic Shop. After all, the shop does have a reputation for oddity. Why couldn't it be a front for more, illegal operations."
"And the humans happily went along with this plan," Miro grinned. "Nicely done my son."
"Oh it gets better," Wyatt replied happily. "You see, after talking with Hannibal I discovered something. The company that his familiar has infiltrated. The one where the wizards aunt works? It turns out they supply the field tests that this department uses."
Miro chuckled softly, an impish grin exposing the vampires fangs. He liked where this was going.
"After talking with Hannibal we discovered that it is actually quite easy to tamper with these tests," Wyatt continued, his voice filled with pride. "The ones that were shipped recently, they reveal a false positive. From a legal standpoint it will appear that Merlin is a drug dealer."
"And effectively take him off the board," Miro finished.
"Temporarily," Wyatt said quickly. "Trying to destroy Merlin could bring unwanted attention. No, this will take him out of action until we can effectively complete our plans. By the time the error is discovered and Merlin is released, we will have departed with our quarry."
Miro began to laugh softly, truely admiring the calculated plan his son had enacted. The wizards would lose a valuable ally, one that would swing the tide of battle in their favor. Instead, Merlin would be sitting in jail until the vampires were safely back home.
Miro now leaned over, clapping his sons shoulder as he toasted the teenage prince. "You truely are a diabolical genius my son.'
"Thank you father."
"Ehjoy your prom my son," Miro smiled. "You have earned a night of festivity."