[Disclaimer: The A-Team is still the red-hot property of Stephen J Cannell (RIP)]
Chapter 1: Leading by example
[Timeline: 1969]
The blistering sun was beating down relentlessly on First Lieutenant Templeton Peck, as he led a 12-man reconnaissance patrol deep within enemy-controlled territory. He was the first guy leading the point team which consisted of himself and four Montagnards. Their mission was very simple – search out and destroy the enemy, whilst gathering any INTEL on their travels.
The unofficial (everyone in his team knew he was really only 19) 22-year old's handsome features were set in a determined, grim expression as he concentrated intently on the terrain around him. His senses tingled instinctively, eyes open to any untoward movement, ears alert to every sound.
Taking point was inevitably a death sentence for any soldier and Peck had endured more than his fair share of becoming a target during his first three months assignment to the 5th Special Forces (Airborne) Division.
His CO, Colonel John Smith (known to his men as simply Hannibal), often rotated the point man, but there was no doubt in his mind that the young Lieutenant was the best man for the job. He would always turn to him in an emergency situation. He was the best God-damn sniper in the whole unit and had a knack of knowing when the shit was about to hit the fan!
Sometimes the kid would volunteer off his own back to be point man, which made Hannibal wonder if he had some kind of death wish. There was no doubt that he was one of life's chancers, always pushing the boundaries to the extreme. Trouble seemed to follow him around, but thanks to his winning personality and endearing smile, he always seemed to talk his way out of it! He had been dubbed "Face" by the team's resident pilot, Captain HM Murdock, and it summed up the lieutenant perfectly.
In fact, Hannibal could see a younger version of himself in Face. Except Face was more out of control and that worried Hannibal. It was like he didn't care what happened to himself or maybe he just thought nobody-else gave a monkey's toss about him.
They were making their way towards the rendezvous LZ, having spent the last 4 hours humping through rice paddies, jungles and valleys without any sign of unfriendlies. As they headed up into the mountain, vigilantly searching the surrounding area and the valley below for any movement, one of the Montagnards stepped on a trip wire. Face gasped in horror as he saw the poor guy disappear in a cloud of smoke.
Face rushed to the stricken Yard but the two lifeless eyes staring back at him confirmed his initial fear that the VC had claimed another victim. Face bit back his nausea as he realised that part of the Yard's leg had been blown off in the explosion. Remembering Hannibal's strict rule about never leaving a man behind, he pulled him up, with the assistance of another Yard. Face knew they were now in a very vulnerable position as the explosion was sure to have alerted the VC as to their location.
It was at that point that a barrage of bullets from the enemy AK-47 rifles, somewhere from the jungle to the east of the valley, rained around them. The other two Montagnards in the point team immediately opened fire with their M-16 semi-automatic rifles, firing randomly into the jungle, forcing the enemy to withdraw – if not temporarily.
Face and the assisting Yard dragged the dead body along between them towards a massive 2,000 pound bomb crater embedded deep in the valley floor. They all dived in quickly, as they were met with another round of enemy fire, this time coming from somewhere in front of them.
Hannibal and the RTO were a short distance behind Face and were flanked by three other Yards, who quickly opened fire on the VC as they also made a dash for the crater.
Sergeant BA Baracus and 2nd Lt Ray Brenner took up the rear and following the lead of the others, ran towards the crater with their guns blazing. They quickly established that the VC were shooting from another crater about 200 yards ahead of them, which meant they were pinned down by the enemy from the north and east locations.
As they jumped into the crater they found Face attempting to help two of the Yards, who unfortunately had been shot during the firefight. His face was ashen white and his hands were shaking as he tried to stem the flow of blood that was surging from their wounds. 2nd Lt Brenner, who also doubled as first aid officer, knelt down beside him and helped him with the two casualties. They looked bad – one had been hit in the chest and another in the back. Ray didn't fancy their chances much, but judging by the stubborn look of denial on the Lieutenant's face, he wasn't going to give up on them just yet.
Hannibal was ordering the RTO to get in contact with Tock and get some gunships out to their location. He knew Murdock would be on his way to make the extraction and should be here any time soon. Unfortunately, the enemy were dug in right between their current position and the LZ. Hannibal wasn't quite sure how they were going to get round them. BA and the remaining Yards would pop their heads up and fire their guns spasmodically in an effort to keep Charlie where they could see them.
Hannibal glanced at Ray enquiringly as to the condition of his casualty, but Ray shook his head sadly as the man took one final gasp of air before losing his fight for life. Face's man had lost consciousness, and now with three of the team down, it was going to be difficult to out-pace and out-smart the enemy.
Face looked totally distraught. He had lost three men almost immediately and the shock was just beginning to sink in.
Hannibal grabbed the radio from the RTO and yelled frantically into the set.
"Hector Three Zero, do you copy!"
Murdock's voice crackled back over the radio.
"Coming through loud and clear, White Lightning."
"Can you give me your ETA?" continued Hannibal.
"5 minutes, Sir," replied Murdock.
"We're on our way but we have 2 KIAs, 1 down and Charlie knocking on the front door!" advised Hannibal. "Stand-by for possible change of co-ordinates."
"Wilco that, White Lightning," responded Murdock.
Hannibal was just about to get back to Tock and ask for a new set of co-ordinates for a possible LZ site, when suddenly he saw Face disappearing over the top of the crater.
"Cover me!" he yelled out to BA as he started to sprint out towards the enemy crater, firing his rifle with pinpoint precision. BA and the Yards all let off a round of fire. Face ran about 150 yards with bullets whizzing past him and then belly-dived to the ground. He delved into his rucksack and pulled out two grenades. He waited for the enemy return fire to cease and then he jumped up, pulled the pin out of one of the pineapples and tossed it a good 50 yards into the crater, quickly doing likewise with the second grenade.
He hit the deck and waited for the imminent explosion. After a few seconds delay the blast erupted and pieces of metal from the outer casing flew outward at a great speed, imbedding itself in anybody and anything within range. Face didn't come away unscathed, as a pieces of shrapnel hit him in the leg and other parts of his body.
With the enemy's line of defence now obliterated, Hannibal ordered his men to evacuate the crater and make a beeline for the LZ.
"Hector Three Zero!" shouted Hannibal into the set, as he and the RTO were the last to leave the crater. "Original co-ordinates good to go – repeat original LZ good to go!"
"Understood, White Lightening!" replied Murdock. "Is it hot?"
"It's so fucking hot we're thinking of having a weenie roast!" screamed back Hannibal sarcastically.
Murdock chuckled at the Colonel's sense of humour but soon became serious again as he heard the familiar crack of AK-47s firing off in the background.
Face in the meantime had crawled precariously towards the enemy crater on his stomach. As he peered over the edge, rifle at the ready, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that lay before him.
The VC unit consisted of what Face could only describe as young boys in black pyjamas with sandals on their feet. There were six of them altogether, none of which looked much older than 15 years old. As his eyes were drawn to their bloodied and mutilated bodies, he felt a wave of repulsion well up inside of him. The stark realisation was that none of these boys were going to see their sixteenth birthdays.
He jumped as he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned round to see Hannibal stooping down beside him.
"Come on kid," he said urgently. "Murdock will be here soon."
He pulled Face to his feet and they stumbled after the rest of the team, who were making their way towards the cover of the tree line on the west side of the valley. The LZ was about another 100 yards in a northerly direction and it wasn't long before they could hear the melodic humming of the Huey's rotor blades somewhere in the distance.
The VC who had retreated back into the jungle on the east side of the valley could hear also hear the Huey approaching but couldn't see it. The pilots always flew at tree-top level so the enemy couldn't tell which direction they were coming from.
Then suddenly the Huey dropped out of the sky and made its fast descent to touch down. Its skids bounced a couple of times on the ground before finally coming to a standstill. The team, who were hovering at the edge of the jungle were already running towards it. The aircraft was most vulnerable during landing and take-off and nobody wanted to get caught short!
The VC had finally figured out where the Huey had landed and made a last-ditch attempt to deploy an attack. But by this time the helicopter gunships were circling over the area to cover the team's retreat. They fired off their machine guns and rockets all around the emerging enemy whilst Hannibal, BA and one of the Yards basically shot at anything that moved. The others bolted towards the slick, dragging the dead and wounded with them.
They somehow managed to pile into the Huey in record-breaking time, with Hannibal being the last man in. Murdock made a very hasty and steep ascent which made the Huey shudder loudly under the pressure. The gunner was leaning out of the cargo door - as far as his harness would let him – raking up the ground beneath them with more bullets.
Hannibal gave a heavy sigh of relief as he looked round his team. Unfortunately, the injured Yard who had been hit earlier never gained consciousness, bringing the body count to three. Hannibal's gaze fell upon Face, who was rather reluctantly allowing Ray to tend to his shrapnel wounds.
"That was one hell of a stunt you pulled out there, Lieutenant," he said incredulously. "You probably just saved the lives of the rest of the team!"
Face shrugged indifferently.
"I knew my quarterback training would come in handy one day," he jested. He was referring to his High School days at St Mary's, where he had become an all-city football champion at the age of 16. However, there was no pride or triumph in his voice and his eyes were shrouded with a deep expression of sadness and sorrow.
Not even the Bronze Medal that he and the team would be awarded with when they returned to base could convince him that this had been a deserving victory.