Summary: A-Team gets captured and this time they can't escape. But help is on the way.
Warnings: None, unless you're English.
Comments: That would be nice, but go easy, this is my first one.
Dedications: Holy cow, I don't know. Hmm, this story is dedicated to whoever reviews it first. (Talk about incentiveJ )
Disclaimer Thing That You've Heard A Million Times Before: I don't own the A-Team, I just write about them. All the other characters are my own invention (except Tom the Spyrodin) and does not represent any one. Tom the Spyrodin is the property of Lindsey Allen. If you like my story, you can put it on your web site but do not forget to recognize that I wrote it. Thank you.
Caged In
Chapter 1
May 2, 2:30 PM
A large Military truck sped down a long, empty road to the coast in South Carolina. It went to a small, insignificant town on the coast with only one thing to recommend it, its Prison. Penville Prison, with over 100,000 dollars of security systems installed, was where the U.S. Government kept the "Big Guns": the terrorists, homicidal maniacs, and, in the case of the 4 men in the truck, escape artists. No one ever left Penville Prison; once you were inside, those concrete walls were what you saw for the rest of your life.
2:35 PM
The sensors on the first gate read the trucks' license plate, registered it, and opened the huge iron doors. The truck drove in. It stopped in front of the second gate; a human guarded this one. The guard punched a code into a computer, the second gate opened, and they were inside. The truck halted in front of the Prison courtyard; five men came out to meet it. One of the men unlocked and opened the back of the truck, went inside, and brought the four new prisoners out. The first of the men, his hands and feet chained to the other three, was tall and well built. He had gray hair and cool gray eyes that noticed everything, the height of the concrete wall, the electrified razor wire on them, the watch towers and spot lights at the four corners of the prison complex; all these things he took in with a sweep of his eyes. One of the five men who had first advanced to meet the truck now walked up to meet him. The man was shorter than the prisoner, with black hair flecked with gray, a broad smile and eyes that had never smiled in their life.
"Colonel John Smith," he said, "I welcome you to Penville Prison. I hope your stay here will be long and pleasant."
"Thank you," replied the Colonel, " Charming little place you have here; I hope it is as good as the tourist board said it was. I would like breakfast at 8:30, sausage, bagel and two fried eggs. Don't break the yolk."
Chapter 2,6:00 PM, Virginia
"In the news around America today, the famous A-Team has been sentenced to life imprisonment and was transported to Peville Prison this afternoon. Robert Moray has more on the court hearings." "Click" Harold Samuels switched the TV off and paced around his small apartment. Tall, brown hair and gray-green eyes, Harold had a brain roughly the size of the Grand Canyon. He walked over to his computer, turned it on, and went on the web. He did a search on Penville Prison, found a map of the prison, studied it and printed it out. On another site he found some pictures and a report. He printed those out also. Going to a cabinet in his room, he took out two files. One was empty, he labeled it 'Penville'; the other, very large and full, was labeled 'A-team'. He spread the contents on the table along with the prison documents.
"How are you going to pull this one off, Hannibal?" he muttered to himself.
6:30 PM
The sound of a telephone interrupted the silence in the house of Thomas Pendellton and his sister. Tom, a handsome young man with light brown hair, answered it.
"This is Wilfred and Son's Baked Bean Factory," he said into the mouthpiece. "Tempelton Peck here, how may I help you?"
"Hi Tom, this is Harold," came the answer.
"Hey Harold!" said Tom, "Wazzup? Did you see the thing in the news about the A-team?"
"Yeah, that's what I'm calling about," replied Harold, "Can you get yourself and Ben down to the V.A. in 40 minutes?"
"Sure Harold, what's happening?"
"A plan. See you there."
7:15 PM
Harold met them in front of the reception desk at the local V.A. Hospital.
" Tom, Ben, you're late" said Harold as they entered.
Benjamin Adams was a huge black man. He was the champion wrestler at the college where they all went, and, like BA Baraccus, he wore a lot of gold chains around his neck.
"Aw, Harold, we don't have to be exact do we?" he said.
"You're going to have to be from now on," said Harold with a grin. Turning to the receptionist, "Could we visit one of your patients? His name is Mister Leonard Mandell, but he calls himself Murdock."
"Of course," she said, "If you will just fill out this form. He's on the 5th floor. (Bum, Bum, Bum J ) room 42."
"Thanks," said Harold, and he filled out the form.
7:16 PM, 5th Floor (Bum, Bum, Bum J )
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!THEY CAN'T BE!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Leonard Mandell. He flung himself at his radio and started to beat it. "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! THEY HAVE BEEN CAPTURED!!!!!!!" he howled. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Ouch!!" he said. "They will be tortured!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!! They will be tortured with Ammonia! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Leonard threw himself on his bed and tried to eat his pillow. The door opened and Harold walked in.
"Harold!" cried Leonard, "We've got to do something!!" He started to sob.
"Relax Leonard," Harold said, " That's what we came to do."
"Harold? Do we have to stay here and listen to this crazy fool?" said Ben.
"Oh BA!" moaned Leonard, "You wouldn't leave me, would you? I need you BA, I need you ."
"Shut up fool! Shut up!" said Ben.
"Everybody sit down and be quiet!" said Harold. Every body sat down and was quiet. "Thank you," he said. "First off, don't worry Leonard, we aren't leaving you. Second, we aren't leaving the A-team either. I was looking at a map of the prison and there is no way that anyone, even Hannibal, can get out of there without outside help." Leonard began to moan. "Don't worry Leonard, we're the outside help," Harold grinned.
"BA?"
"Yeah, Harold?"
"Go and get some of the usual stuff; bugs, homing devices, ear mikes, that sort of thing. And one of those new watch/camera doohickeys."
"OK."
"Tom."
"Yes?"
"Get me a van," said Harold.
"What kind?" replied Tom.
"The A-team van. Look around, they usually sell off that seized stuff pretty quick. Get it. If not, something just as good. I will take care of the weapons and explosives. I will also get the makeup."
"What do you want me to do, Harold?" asked Leonard.
"Sign this," replied Harold, handing him a piece of paper.
Chapter 3
May 3rd, 12:01PM, V.A. Hospital
A tall man with black hair, a goatee and wearing a white jacket walked up to the receptionist. "I'm Doctor Joshua Brown, United States Army surgeon." He showed her a badge. "I'm here to request the release of a Mister Leonard Mandell, he signed a form saying that he would like to donate his organs to US Military medical research." He handed her a file. "A General Francis Sputnick needs an immediate organ transplant."
"This is rather sudden, isn't it?" said the surprised receptionist.
"The General didn't plan on having this happen. From what I heard, he was going golfing today," he replied.
"Let me talk to my superiors," she said. After talking on the phone for a minute, she asked, "How long will you have Mr. Mandell?"
"Surgery will hopefully be in an hour, and recovery will be about 4 weeks. There is a number on the paper you can call for confirmation."
"That won't be necessary, Doctor, just sign this temporary release form. He is on the 5th floor (Bum, Bum, Bum J ), room number 42."
"Thanks," he said.
12:10 PM, V.A. Hospital Parking Lot
"Doctor" Harold escorted an exited Leonard into a white car. He started the engine and took off his black wig and goatee. Lighting a cigar he said, "I love it when a plan comes together."
"He's on the jazz," thought Leonard. He grinned.
12:13 PM, Penville Prison, South Carolina
BA Baraccus was escorted to his cell by four heavily armed guards. It was not a large room; all it had in the way of furnishings was two cots and a stool. Sitting on one of the cots was another prisoner, BA's roommate.
"What's your name?" asked the man, "And why are you in this lovely hotel?"
"BA Baraccus. I'm here on charges of bank robbery, destruction of military property and being an embarrassment to the Government," was the gruff reply.
"I see," said his roommate, "Petty crimes. I blew up a school bus, 12 casualties."
Each cell was equipped with a hidden camera to monitor the prisoner's actions at all times. All these videos were watched on a large screen in a separate building on the prison complex. The man whose shift it was to watch the monitor got an unexpected surprise. He blinked and looked at the screen again. He snatched up the telephone and called security. "Sir?" he said into the mouthpiece, "Um, we appear to have a prisoner fight. Yes, that's right. Yeah, that's what I thought also. Uh huh. Section A, room 21; and get there fast, it looks like they're trying to kill each other."
BA was placed in solitary confinement and the other prisoner was placed in the prison hospital.
Hannibal Smith and Face were in the same section, but in different rooms. After breakfast, Hannibal received a form. On the heading was written "Prisoner Activities".
"How nice," thought Hannibal, "Something to keep us occupied. Let's see, gardening, music, hairdressing…" he smiled and checked off "hairdressing".
"Thank you," he said to the guard as he returned the paper through the slot in his door.
12:47 PM, Virginia
A black GMC van with a red stripe on its side drove up in front of Ben's house. Leonard ran out and threw himself on the hood while Ben and Harold calmly walked out of the house and stared at the van. Tom hopped out of the drivers seat and said with a grin, "Well, Harold, what do you think?"
"Perfect Tom," was the reply, "Perfect. Wow. This is the van."
"It came with a few extra things," said Tom, handing him a paper bag. Harold looked inside and laughed, "Where did you find these?"
"In the tire well, if you can believe it," answered Tom.
"I can't," said Harold, "Let's load it up and get moving."
1:30 PM, Virginia
Frank was a highway patrol officer. Frank had pulled off to the side of the road and was eating a smoky bacon and burger sandwich and drinking a Pepsi. In between bites he watched the road.
1:32 PM, Virginia
Frank saw a black van with a red stripe drive past. "That's funny," thought the officer, "I think I've seen that van somewhere before." He looked at the license plate: L.A., California. "Californians," he muttered, and continued eating.
Chapter 4, May 4th, 10:32 AM
"Doctor Brakenridge's Psychology for Dummies'?" asked Tom.
"All right, but only for reference. Find something that has to do with insane criminals," answered Harold. He and Tom were inside a Barnes and Noble just past the South Carolina border. The van was parked outside and Leonard and BA were inside it, arguing, as usual.
"How about 'Inside the Criminal Mind' by Doctor Henry Bond?"
"Sounds all right, what does he look like?"
Tom opened the book. A young man with a beard and thick rimmed glasses stared back at him. Harold looked over his shoulder.
"Handsome bugger," said Harold, "Shouldn't be too hard. Buy it."
While Tom bought the book, Harold went to look at monster movie scripts.
12:46 PM, Penville Prison
Sgt. Mark Falkerk walked into the Warden's office with the mail.
"How are things today?" asked the warden.
"Semi-normal Sir; the terrorist that prisoner Baraccus, 1101007, messed up will be coming back tomorrow."
"A pity," said the warden. "Baraccus could have saved us another two thousand a year of the tax payers' money."
"One of the insane men is making life miserable for our cook. All he will eat is chocolate pudding mixed with mayonnaise."
"Yuck," the warden made a face, "Who is this?"
"H. M. Murdock, 6542647."
"Oh dear."
"The psychiatrist can't get through to him either," continued Mark "I don't know how the A-Team managed him. Speaking of psychiatrists, we got an impressive resume from a Dr. Henry Bond." Mark handed the resume to his boss. "And another from a Mr. Alex MacDonald, he wants to be a security guard." Mark handed that one over also.
"Hire him." The warden glanced over it briefly, "As for this Dr. Bond, well, his resume is impressive. It appears that he has written a book and a few theses on prison psychology. Maybe he can talk some sense into Mr. Murdock."
May 5th, 2:32 PM, 2 miles outside of Penville Prison.
The A-Team van was hidden in the brush just off the highway. Harold, wearing a blond wig and a mustache that made him look like Hulk Hogan, was helping Tom with his makeup. Ben was in the back of the van, developing the pictures that Harold had taken during his interview. Leonard had found a rock that would be his friend and was talking to it.
"Shut up, fool!" yelled an exasperated Ben, "Shut up! It's a rock! And it ain't nothing but a rock! If you don't shut up about that rock, I'll make you shut up!"
"BA! How can you say you say such a thing?" said a shocked Leonard, "This poor little rock has had a hard life. His friends have all been crushed into asphalt and he, all his poor life, has been shunned and kicked from place to place. He told me so." Ben slugged him.
5:30 PM
Tom had come back from his interview. It was successful and he had been hired. The three men sat in the back of the van, eating their dinner and listening to Harold.
"OK," he said, " I want this unit to rest up, we have a big day tomorrow. Here's the plan; I have to be there at six in the morning. I'll try to contact the colonel at lunch. Tom? You get in at ten, right?
"That's right, Harold."
"Talk to Murdock, let him know what we're doing. Be subtle about it though, the rooms are probably bugged. And don't be fooled, he's just as sane as the rest of us."
"Which isn't saying much," said Ben, looking at Leonard.
"Leonard, tomorrow night I want you to count the rotations of the spot lights on the observation towers of the prison. I want it exact, Captain."
"You bet, Harold"
"Good," he grinned, "I love it when a plan comes together."
Chapter 5, May 6th, 10:03 AM, Penville Prison, section A.
"Quick!" said Harold to his fellow guard, "Where's the lavatory?"
"Huh?" replied his companion.
"THE BATHROOM!!!!!" said Harold with a grimace.
"End of the corridor and turn right," answered the guard.
Harold ran down the hallway, waving to the guard in the small steel watchtower on the ceiling. He paused to read the signs on the three doors in front of him. One said BATHROOMS; another said SHOWERS, and the last said STAFF BATHROOMS. He looked around for security cameras. None. "Good," he thought, "This is a break." He entered into the criminal bathrooms. The first thing he did in there was to check for more cameras. Still none. There was a small glass window on the wall. Harold walked over to take a look. A small window, large enough for a thin man to squeeze through, but there was an iron grating in front of it and the glass was very thick. "I'll need a putty bomb to get through that," thought Harold. He took some pictures of it. Looking at the ceiling he saw an air vent.
"How convenient," he said. Standing on a toilet he took a closer look inside. A faint red glow met his gaze.
"----!" He said, "Security beams! Just what I don't need!" He muttered a few more expletives and left.
11:14 AM
"Well, Mr. Murdock, since you decided to eat the last one, what does this picture remind you of?
Tom was showing H.M. Murdock some abstract finger paintings. "If I can find some object that they can relate to," he had told the prison warden, "and can get them to talk about it, it is the first step towards getting inside the closed passageways of their mind." The drawing that he was showing Murdock looked like a flower.
"Ants," said Murdock, "Ants. Just like the ones that are crawling up my leg and I can't GET AT THEM!!" Murdock desperately tried to slap his leg where the "ants" supposedly were. This proved useless, however, since he was wearing a straitjacket.
"How about this one, Murdock?" said Tom, who was near hysterical laughter at Murdock's antics. He set another picture in front of Murdock. This one was a picture of a butterfly.
"It's my arch-nemeses!" gasped Murdock, "Tom the spyrodin!" Tom winced. "And there he is!!" he cried, looking at the empty wall in front of him. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, sucker!" Murdock hopped up to wall and started barking at it. Suddenly, he leaped backward yelling.
"Dive! Dive! Awooooogah! Awooooogah!" He hit the floor and kicked his legs in the air. Tom smiled and walked over to the prostrate lunatic.
"How about this one then, Captain?" He showed Murdock a piece of white paper. On it, in light blue ink, were written the words, "I'm here to get the A-team out."
Murdock blinked and looked up at Tom. Tom grinned.
12:17 PM
The food cart came from the kitchen to deliver lunch to the prisoners in section A. When it came to room 51, Harold, with a friendly smile, said to the cook,
"I can put that in for you."
"Oh, thanks," replied the cook, and handed the tray to Harold. Harold entered a code on blank keys on the door, and a small panel opened to admit the tray of food. He palmed a small capsule into the drink and pushed the tray into the cell. The panel closed automatically.
12:10 PM
Hannibal Smith found the capsule in his Coke. Opening it up, he found a small message. Hannibal read it, smiled and laughed.
"Well, whoever it is, it's about time."
Chapter 6,May 7th, 10:00 AM
"I think they have a set computer programmed path," said Leonard, "They all hit the outside perimeter at the same time."
"How long are they off the roof?" asked Harold
"The spot lights? Fifteen seconds. Exactly," was the reply. Harold was on a breakfast break. He and Leonard were in the van, eating Captain Belly Buster Burgers.
"Fifteen seconds," he said, in between bites, "Are you sure?"
"You bet I'm sure," said Leonard with his mouth full, "Whassup, Harold?"
"A plan," said Harold. He finished his burger, pulled on his black leather gloves, and left.
"The Colonel's on the Jazz," thought Leonard.
10:25 AM
Hannibal received another note with his breakfast. On it was written one word, "Gardening".
11:03 AM
Hannibal Smith was admitted into the small garden under escort. When they were inside, his escort closed the door and said,
"Colonel Smith? My name is Harold Samuels. I'm the guy who's going to get the A-Team out of here."
"Really?" said Hannibal dryly, "How thrilling. Well, under the circumstances, I'm pleased to meet you, Harold."
"And I am pleased to finally see you in person, Hannibal," replied Harold.
"Now, " said Hannibal, "What are we up against?"
Hannibal and Harold discussed different plans for twenty minutes.
May 8th, Saturday, 11:12 AM
"Why are we going into town, Harold? We already have enough supplies." Ben and Harold were driving down what was called Main Street in Penville.
"I want to stop down at the city hall," replied Harold, who was driving. "When I was on lunch break yesterday," he went on, "I went down to the cliffs at the beach behind the prison. I looked down and saw some sort of old drainage system. I'm going to see if I can get some information on it." Ben shrugged and was silent.
12:06 PM
The four men were inside the A-team van, listening to Harold. Ben sat in the driver's seat, Leonard was lying on the floor playing with his rock and Tom was straightening up one of his suits. Harold lit his cigar.
"OK, here's the plan," he said. "Ben, when 11:35 PM comes around, I want you to cut the fences and wires on the outside of the prison and on the wall. Leonard, I will find you a janitor lookalike. You go in dressed as the janitor and rolling two trashcans. BIG trash cans, they have to be able to fit a large man in each of them. At 11:30 you will get BA out, he is in solitary confinement over in section B, and put him in one of the cans. You will then wait. Tom, at 11:25 you will go and talk to H.M. Murdock. He will "hit" you over the head, and take your clothes."
"WHAT!!!??!!" shouted an aroused Tom.
"Be sure you wear some nice Boxers," said Harold with a grin, "because you'll be on camera." Over in the front of the van, Ben laughed.
"Bloody ----!" said Tom.
"Anyhow," continued Harold, "Murdock will put on your clothes so as not to attract suspicion."
"Humph," said Tom.
"He will then go to the solitary confinement room where he will get into the second trash can. Leonard will nonchalantly wheel these two trash cans down the hall to the garden in section B, where he will leave them with instructions."
"What instructions?" asked Leonard.
"We'll get to that later," said Harold. " I don't want to spoil it now." He continued, "You will then leave the prison; get out as quick as you can, Leonard. I will get Face and Hannibal out."
"How?" said Tom.
"Don't ask me that," was the reply, "I'm still working that out. At 11:42 Tom will alert the guards to his interesting predicament and explain to them what happened. I will also attract the attention of the guards at section A to the fact that Face and Hannibal have escaped. These two incidents will evoke an immediate search of the perimeter, where they will discover the presence of the cut wires. The wires on the wall are electrified so you had better use insulated cutters, Ben. And be sure that you are out of there and are waiting at the docks before this all happens." He paused to take a puff on the ever-present cigar. "Now we come to the grand finale," he said.
"My whole life has been devoted towards this moment," said Leonard.
"Good," said Harold. He pulled out a map and spread it on the floor. The men gathered around for a better look.
"When Ben and I went out we got a map of the old city sewer system. And look where it leads to," he said, pointing to a corner of the map, "right under where the prison wasn't and now is. It goes right under the garden in section B and drains out into the ocean beach." He paused for effect.
"Tom?"
"Yes Harold?"
"Get me a boat. You and I are going to be busy tomorrow."
Chapter 7, May 8th, 10:06 AM
The roar of the engine came to a halt as Harold turned it off. He and Tom were in a small boat not far from the bleak, gray cliffs where the ancient drainpipe was located. Harold jumped out, pulled the boat the rest of the way in and secured it to the rocks lining the beach. The two men walked up to the edge of the drain and surveyed it. A foul stench came from the black hole as they peered into it.
"Phew!" Tom said, "I don't want to know what that odor is coming from."
"You will know in a minute," replied Harold. He reached up to the grate that half covered the uninviting darkness. The worn and rusted metal gave easily to the wire cutters as Harold cut the rest of it away. He turned to the reluctant Tom.
"Go get the tools, and come in after me," he said.
"Me?" replied Tom, "Go in there? No. I'll get my clothes messy."
"This is an order, Lieutenant," said Harold. He looked as if he meant it, too. Tom shrugged, and went back to the boat. Harold took his Kimbar .45 automatic out of its shoulder holster, placed a new clip in it, and put it back in its' holster. He then pulled a flashlight out of his pocket, and went inside. It was a small passage, just large enough for a man to squat in. Harold took a small ball of twine from his pocket, fixed one end to the ceiling, and rolled it down the tunnel in front of him. He then lowered himself to the floor and crawled through the rotting sewage.
Tom returned from the small boat with the required tools. Looking up at the stinking tunnel he began to grumble.
"Why me?" he moaned, as he tossed the tools into the drain. "Why do I have to go? Why couldn't Ben or Leonard have gone?" He pulled himself into the passage, turned on his flashlight, and started to crawl slowly down the tunnel.
Harold crawled down the tube, rolling the ball of string before him. Unluckily, it was at this point that his flashlight went out. Harold swore at it, beat it on the ground, and, when this method failed to produce a response, muttered an expletive and continued on his way. The stench was getting stronger now, and Harold soon found its source. Two yellow eyes and a large growl blocked the passage in front of him.
"What the-?" Harold tried to jump back. This proved futile, however, because he lying down. Something that felt like a blackjack hit him on the side of the head. Blood flowed into his eyes and distorted the little he could see. He swore and angrily wiped the blood out of his face. Pulling his pistol out of its holster, he pored three shots into the confined space in front of him. The sound reverberated down the tunnel behind him where a startled Tom was. Tom thought briefly about going back.
"No," he said, " if Harold's in trouble I'd better go help him." He started up the tunnel at an increased speed. He passed the dead carcass of some smelly, hairy thing.
"Well, I guess that explains that," he said. Tom continued down the tunnel at a slower pace.
"BOO!"
"AHIEE!" cried Tom, and banged his head on the ceiling. In front of him, Harold was laughing.
"Don't do that." He shined his flashlight at Harold's face. "You're bleeding," he said. It was true, three ugly claws had marred the side of Harold's forehead, and the blood flowed liberally down to his shirt collar.
"Just a scratch," said Harold, "A deep and very painful scratch. Give me the saw."
Tom blinked, and handed Harold a "Saws-All". Harold lay on his back and inserted the saw blade into the old, rusty ceiling.
"If I got my lengths right," he said above the roar of the saw, "we should come up right behind the large bush in garden B." The saw finished the hole, which was large enough for a man to easily crawl through. The metal section fell on his head.
"Ow," he said, "That was not well thought out." He brushed it off of his face. He looked up at the hole he had made. "Oops," he said. A whole lot of earth and a small potted plant fell on his face.
"ow!" said a muffled voice from the pile of dirt.
"Are you ok?" asked Tom
"No," was the reply, "There is a worm up my nose." He sat up and froze. Tom also stopped. The sound of voices came from the hole Harold had made.
"What was that?" asked a voice.
"Dunno," said another, "Maybe a gopher knocked over one of the pots."
"I'm going to look and see," said the first voice, "It sounded like it came from behind that bush." Harold silently slid his pistol out from its holster as the sound of someone walking towards the bush was heard. Suddenly, a new voice was heard.
"Hey you guys," said the other voice, "Your break is over and the cook wants you in the kitchen to make the lunches." The men grumbled and went back inside. There was silence. Underground, Tom started breathing. Harold stuck his head out the hole and viewed the area. It felt good to breathe fresh air again
"All clear," he said, "Hand me the plant." Tom had dragged a large potted plant along with him, and he now gladly relinquished the bulky object to Harold. When Harold had finally affixed it so that it covered the hole, he and Tom crawled back down the tunnel. Tom was the first one to come out of the hole and land on the beach.
"Look at me," he said, "I'm revolting." He was right.
Harold stuck his head out the tunnel and grinned.
"And yet," he said, "Somehow, life goes on." He slid out the rest of the way and landed in front of Tom. He looked worse than Tom; his face, distorted by sweat, dirt and blood, was almost unrecognizable.
"I hope you know someone with a good shower," he said
Tom thought a moment. "The warden isn't home yet, we could break in there."
"Good plan, let's go."
Chapter 8, May 10th, 2:07 PM
The doorbell rang at the house of Jeff Morland, the night shift janitor at the prison. Jeff opened the door. Standing outside was a man that could be Jeff's twin brother.
"Would you be interested in buying Life Insurance?" asked Leonard Mandell.
"No thanks," said Jeff roughly.
"A pity," sighed Leonard. Jeff sank to the ground and lay still. Leonard looked down at the prostrate man, and then at the rock he held casually in his hand.
"Nice job, rock," he said approvingly, "Couldn't have done it better myself." He went inside and closed the door. He then tied and gagged Jeff, and locked him in the bathroom. Pulling out his cell phone, he called the house number. The answering machine in Jeff's bedroom answered it. Leonard walked in to listen to it.
"Did you know that Doctors reports show that cleaning your carpet with three day-old potato salad can be detrimental to your health?" said Leonard after the beep.
Leonard began to look around for a mirror. After locating one, he sat in a corner and talked to it for an hour.
2:23 PM
Tom poked his head around the warden's office door.
"Yes, Doctor Bond?" queried the warden.
"Ah, well," said Tom uncomfortably, "Could Mr. Murdock have his ceiling painted florescent green?"
"I suppose this is absolutely necessary, isn't it?" said the warden sarcastically.
"Well, not really," answered Tom, "But it would make him more comfortable with his environment. Oh, by the way, " he continued, "I will be stopping by at midnight, Mr. Murdock said he had something very important to tell me."
"All right," sighed the warden. He typed something in the computer in front of him. "OK," he said, "You'll be expected. Good day, Doctor."
"Good day, sir," replied Tom. He smiled and closed the door.
11:00 PM
Leonard's cell phone rang.
"Hello, you have reached Billy's real-estate agency, how may I help you?" he answered.
"Well, you could start by changing your cell phone ring to something other than La Marseillaise," said Harold. Leonard laughed. Harold became serious. "You'd better start to move out, Leonard, it's time."
"You bet," said Leonard.
"Be careful, Captain. Don't forget that the security cameras'll view you at all times. If you're in trouble, don't hesitate to press your panic button, I'll be right behind you."
"No sweat, Colonel."
"Good luck, Captain."
Chapter 9, 11:32 PM
Ben parked the van across the road from the prison. Taking out the wire cutters, he waited for the prison spotlights to shine away from the outside perimeter.
"Fifteen seconds," he thought, and sprinted across the road toward the prison. Ben dived into the underbrush as the lights passed over again. Once the light was gone he began to crawl towards to fence. He continued this erratic pace until he reached the first fence. It was a simple chain link one, with the usual strands of barbed wire on the top. He cut a hole wide enough for him to crawl through, and continued to the next obstacle. It was several coils of razor wire. This was more difficult for him to cut through, but he managed it. A trip-wire was placed so that anyone leaving the prison would fall into the coils of razor wire and would be seriously injured. He had reached the wall now; it was made of concrete and was over ten feet high. Ben listened for the sound of the inside guards making their rounds accompanied by the dogs. When they and the lights had passed, he hoisted himself to the top. Holding himself up with one hand, he cut the razor wire coils with the other. Harold had said that it was electrocuted, and so it was. It gave a small spark when he cut it. He lowered himself slowly to the ground and crawled back toward the road.
11:30
Hannibal Smith checked the time on the wall clock in his cell. He smiled and pressed a button next to the door. Out in the hallway, Harold reached for his mike.
"We have a prisoner who wants to go to the john," he said, " I'll take him." He motioned to another guard, "Cover me." He walked over to the door and entered a code into the keypad at its side. A panel opened and Hannibal stuck his hands out. When Harold put handcuffs on him, another light flashed from the next door.
"We got another one," he said.
"I'll take care of him," said the other guard. He entered a code in the other door and did the same thing as Harold had done with Hannibal.
"Request door unlock," said Harold into his mike.
"Request granted," said a computer-like voice from the transmitter on his collar. The door slid open and Hannibal walked out. In the next door, the other guard had gone through the same procedure as Harold had. The door slid open and Face walked out. He glanced over at Hannibal and smiled.
"I'll take these two down to the bathrooms," said Harold.
"I'll go with you," said the other guard amiably.
"I can do it. Don't trouble yourself," said Harold.
"No trouble at all," the guard smiled.
"You bet it's a lot of trouble," said Harold to himself. He looked over to Hannibal and gave a slight nod. The four men walked down the hall and turned the coroner. Face in front, then Hannibal, the guard and lastly, an uncomfortable Harold. Hannibal turned suddenly.
"Don't blink!" he said, and hit the guard on the jaw with his manacled fist. The guard spun backward with an "Oof!" and Harold lowered him noiselessly to the floor. He turned to Face and Hannibal. Unbuckling their wrists he said in a low voice,
"Whew! That was close. Here's the plan."
He pulled a block of putty and something that looked like a black pencil out of his pocket. "Do you know how to use these?" he asked, handing them to Face.
"Putty bombs? Of course," said Face.
"Good," said Harold, "Go into the bathrooms, there is a small thick window on the left hand side. Place the bomb on it, but do not detonate it yet. In the ceiling there is an air duct." He handed Hannibal a screwdriver. "Go inside, there will be a laser panel blocking the passageway ahead. Take off the panel on the side, there should be three wires. Face, disconnect them and twist the green, white and orange wires together. Continue up until you reach the grate on the roof. When you reach the roof, wait for the lights to pass over you, then go straight and turn right. You have fifteen seconds to get as far as you can, then hide. When you reach the end of the roof, jump into the garden. Murdock and BA will be there." He handed Hannibal his pistol, "Good luck Colonel." He saluted, palm out. Hannibal returned the salute and left.
11:31 PM
Leonard walked down the hallway in between section A and B. He passed by the kitchen and waved to the cook, who was washing dishes.
"Hi Jeff, working late?" asked the cook
"Yep," said Leonard. He walked passed. The cook stared after him. "Odd," he thought, "He sounds the same but there is something different about him." Then he realized it. "The hat!" he said. Leonard had been wearing the blue baseball cap he always wore. "Jeff never wears a hat, or at least I have never seen him in one. Oh well." He continued washing dishes.
Leonard continued down the hall, turned left and stopped in front of a small set of doors. The solitary confinement section was separate from the rest of the hall on section B, but security cameras at either end watched it. Leonard said a small prayer, and pulled out from his pocket something that looked like a large computer chip. Ben had spent all afternoon working on this. Leonard inserted it in the keypad of room twenty-five, pressed a button at its' top, and the door slid open. BA was sitting in the far corner, his arms chained against the wall. He looked up from his sleep as this unexpected visitor walked in.
"Rise and shine, big guy. We're going away to never-never land." He took a small wad of putty from his pocket, pushed it into the locks that bound BA to the wall, and blew them open.
"What are you doing, man?" queried BA, "Where we going?"
"Just get into the barrels, " said a frantic Leonard. BA got into one of the two large blue plastic trashcans that Leonard had rolled down there.
"And if they smell like apples," said Leonard, "Blame a dwarf." He fixed the lid on the top and waited anxiously for Murdock, glancing at the cameras from time to time.
The man whose time it was to watch the monitors was engrossed in a book. He never looked up at the screen.
Murdock walked around the corner where Leonard was waiting for him.
" I have been sent, and I have come," said Murdock solemnly. He broke into a wide smile.
"Well, get into one of these quick," said Leonard, motioning to the trashcans.
"I hope it wont get my suit dirty," said Murdock, "It isn't my own."
Leonard grinned and began to roll the two now heavy containers out in the open and down towards the exit to the garden. He smiled at the three guards in the corridor and at the two in the small towers on the ceiling. He passed the gauntlet without incident and opened the door to the garden. He closed the door and opened the two lids on the trashcans. The two occupants got out and looked at each other.
"You!" growled BA.
"ME!" replied Murdock, "How ya doing, big guy?" He shook BA's hand warmly.
A smile broke out on BA's face and he returned the handshake.
"I don't like to admit it, Murdock," he said, "But I am glad to see you."
"We can all say the hello's and how-are-you's later," said Leonard, "But you'd better get over here now." They went over to where Leonard was standing.
"Now the boss says that-yep, here it is." Leonard lifted up the plant Harold had put to cover the hole. The three men stared into the blackness below.
"As I was saying before I so rudely interrupted myself, " continued Leonard, "Harold says you guys are to wait until Hannibal and Faceman get here. Then you'll all go down that hole and crawl that way," he pointed down towards the beach. "There will be a boat and a driver waiting for you."
"Go down there?" said BA, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Yes," said Leonard. He smiled and left.
Chapter 10
11:36 PM
Harold watched Hannibal and Face disappear behind the bathroom door. He knelt to the floor and pulled out a small razor blade and inserted the point into his forehead. He pulled horizontally and the blood spilled over his face from the thin open wound.
Hannibal closed the door and located the air vent that Harold had mentioned.
"Five minutes?" asked Face. Hannibal turned; Face was standing by the window and had fixed the explosive in between the iron grate and the window.
"Sure," said Hannibal, "Five will be enough." He started to remove the vent while Face set the timer. The vent swung open and the men hoisted themselves up. Face crawled through the small tunnel until he reached the lasers. Hannibal handed Face the screwdriver and Face took the panel off. No wires. He took of the opposite panel. Still no wires.
"OK," he said, "This will be tough." He slowly reached between the beams to the opposite side. Slowly, carefully, he felt for the screw heads that he knew would be there. He found them, and inserted his fingernail in the slot. One screw came out and he started on the other one. His fingernail snapped and Face bit his lip. The reflexes on his wrist jumped and elevated his wrist to a hairbreadth from the laser beam. The sweat flowed down his face as he started on the next screw.
"Twenty seconds," said Hannibal. Face ignored him and continued on the screw. It fell out and Face opened the panel. He reached and pulled a handful of wires into view. There were lots of wires. He carefully separated the white, orange and green ones and pulled them out. The laser flickered and stayed steady. Face took the ends of the three wires and twisted them together. There was a spark, Face yelped and leaped backwards. The laser had gone out. Face glanced down at his thumb and forefinger, there was a black line down them and the smell of burnt flesh was in the air. The two men crawled up the ever-tightening passageway.
11:41 PM
Harold lay still on the floor until he heard the muffled explosion. He then got up and staggered drunkenly to the hallway. He rounded the corner and fell to the floor. Two guards noticed him and ran down to help him.
"The prisoners," he gasped, "Where are the prisoners?" One of the guards ran to the bathroom, flung open the door and entered, his shotgun at the ready. He stared. The open window stared eloquently back at him. He turned and said to the other guard, "Prisoner escape! Sound the alarm!"
11:42 PM
The guards in the watchtowers saw an unexpected sight just after the alarm went off. Tom, bound and gagged, pushed the door of Murdock's cell open and hopped out. The guards who ran to him could hardly keep from laughing, for Tom was clad only in white boxer shorts covered with red hearts and a tank top. Tom told them his story and a general panic ensued.
11:42.43 PM
Face reached the top where the grate was and was temporarily blinded by a bright light. He waited until the spotlight had passed and took off the grate. He jumped out, and Hannibal followed.
"Where do we go now, Hannibal?" said Face in a whisper.
"That-a-way!" said Hannibal, pointing to the end of section B. The two men ran along the roof, their shoes desperately seeking traction on the slippery surface.
"Thirteen, fourteen," Hannibal said as they sprinted across the roof. "Fifteen! Hit the deck!" Face and Hannibal fell flat on their stomachs, Hannibal sliding forwards and Face almost slipping off the edge. For two seconds, the spotlights shone towards them. Then, suddenly, they shone on the perimeter of the prison complex. Bells started ringing and the sound of jeeps starting up was heard.
"Let's go!" shouted Hannibal. They got up and ran the rest of the way. They reached the end of the roof and, without hesitating, leaped off the end, landing in a large bush.
"Ow!" they said, and extricated themselves from it. BA and Murdock ran up to meet them. They all smiled and patted each other on the back while Murdock told them about the hole.
"I'm not going in there!" said Face.
"OK," said Hannibal, "You can stay." He slid into the hole and disappeared. Murdock and BA followed him.
"I go," said Face, and went inside, covering the hole with the plant after him.
11:50 PM
Hannibal stuck his head out the end of the tunnel and smelled the salty air. He slid the rest of the way out, BA following him. Murdock popped his head out.
"Doctor Livingston, I presume?" he said to BA.
"Shut up fool, and get out of there," said BA
"Hey guys," said Hannibal, "There's the boat. Let's go." He ran towards the waiting craft. BA and Murdock followed him. Face came out of the hole.
"Look at me," he said, "I'm revolting. Hey! Wait up!" He ran after the rest of the guys towards the boat.
"Welcome aboard Miracle Cruise lines," said Leonard as they climbed in. "Where Lady Luck is your captain." Hannibal sat down next to him.
"I've met her before," he said, "She wasn't all that her name implied." Leonard started up the engine and the small boat sped away.
12:17 AM
Ben leveled his SA-80 at the noise he had heard.
"Put the squirt gun away, big guy," said Leonard, "It's just me." Ben lowered the light machine gun and grinned.
"Harold, Tom, they're here," he said. Harold, his mustache removed and the blood wiped from his face, got out from the van followed by Tom, who was now dressed and had taken off his facial hair. Introductions, handshakes and congratulations went all around the small group.
Chapter 11,12:56 AM
The van sped down the road towards Virginia. BA was driving and Ben sat next to him. Face and Murdock were next and Tom and Leonard sat behind them with Harold and Hannibal in the back.
"I got you guys four British SA-80's," said Harold " And one thousand rounds of ammo, and Tom somehow got you guys a GPMG M-60," he continued. Tom grinned.
"How did you con that?" asked Face.
"I found gun dealer that was a IRA sympathizer, so I went in and told him my name was Brian MacManus and that I was the new IRA arms buyer." He laughed, "He gave me the "gumpy" and ten belts of ammo for free."
"Nice," said Face.
"I've got something else, too," said Harold. He reached behind him and brought out the paper bag. Hannibal looked inside and laughed.
"I'd almost forgot about these," he said. He reached in and pulled out a pair of black leather gloves and handed the bag to Murdock. Murdock reached in and pulled out an old, worn leather flight jacket. Murdock hugged it and almost cried. BA looked in the bag and smiled, the glint of gold chains greeted his eye. Harold looked at Hannibal and grinned.
"I'll bet I know what you are going to say," he said, handing Hannibal a cigar.
"You probably do," he answered. The two men looked at each other and laughed.
"I love it when a plan comes together,"
they said.The End
This is a story by some unknown person with the unlikely name of David Quivey.