OK, people, here's my A-Team Christmas Special, set after the movie. If you read my 'Together Forever' story, this is set the Christmas before all the events occur. This is part of my Five Christmas one-shots, which also include BBC Sherlock (x2), Life on Mars and Yu-Gi-Oh! OK, this is part of my Togetherverse.
Ages
Dylan- 15
Scarlett-15
Aailyah- 18
Annabella- 20
Anyway, Merry Christmas to all and read on!
11th December, 2100 hours, Two weeks before Christmas
Dylan sighed as she threw her darts at the picture of Justin Bieber on her dartboard. She had absolutely no idea what she was going to do for her father at Christmas. Hell, she didn't know what she was going to get for her 'uncles', Charisa or the girls either. She had already sent her mother her Christmas present: a picture of her with her father in a fancy frame. Dylan figured that Charlie would get it around two days before Christmas. She and Megan liked that kind of stuff.
"Hey, Duke"
Dylan looked up to see Scarlett, Annabelle and Aailyah entering her tent. Aailyah was still in her grease-stained tank top and short shorts, having come straight from the shed. Annabelle was in a white shirt and long black pants, her stylish blue glasses still on. She had been doing some sort of studying for university. Scarlett was the only one dressed for bed, in her bright red silk top and pants, carrying her make-up box with her.
Dylan grinned, "Hey, girls. 100 points for the person that can hit Bieber's nuts"
Annabelle raised her eyebrows at the dart covered picture, where there already were three or four in the groin region, "I think you've already done it"
Dylan shook her head, "Nah, they're so small, I keep missing"
Scarlett laughed and leapt on the bed next to Dylan. Aailyah shook her head as she collapsed on a chair next to the bed. Annabelle remained standing, leaning up against Dylan's cupboard, which contained thousands of DVDs in it.
"Soooooo, I'm going to guess the reason that you're here is because Colonel Mac has called a meeting" Dylan looked at Annabelle
Annabelle nodded, "Yep. Guys, we have to talk Christmas presents"
Aailyah groaned, "It's almost Christmas? God damn, I thought we had just gotten over last year's fiasco!"
Scarlett smiled as she opened her make-up box, "What's your problem, A.K? I love Christmas"
Scarlett grabbed her favourite nail-polish- a bright scarlett colour - as well as a dark green, "In fact, for the next two weeks, I resolve to try and remind people of the Christmas spirit with everything I do. Starting with my nail polish"
Dylan rolled her eyes, "Yeah, Mac. I was just thinking about that two. I don't think I can go through the fiasco of buying everybody individual gifts again. It was so confusing and frustrating last year"
Annabelle shrugged, "Which is why I'm here. C'mon, ideas people!"
Aailyah shook her head, "No way, man. I'm fresh out of Christmas ideas. It's too hard"
Annabelle turned to Scarlett, "Red?"
Scarlett began her even stroking of her nail polish, "Sorry, Belle. I'm not that good with presents. That's my dad's territory"
"Duke?" Annabelle turned to the craziest of their crew.
Dylan smiled, "Mac, you are the daughter of John 'Hannibal' Smith, the greatest ideas man I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I think you, of all of us, could think of an idea that could turn this into a Christmas that will be unbelievable"
At Dylan's last words, the cogs in Annabelle's head clicked into action. They built up into a fast-paced whirr as the plan began to form in her mind. Dylan's smile got wider as she observed Annabelle's expression.
"I know that face" Dylan grinned, "You've got something in mind"
Aailyah's eyes widened, "What is it, Mac?"
Scarlett paused in her manicure and looked up, "You got an idea?"
Annabelle grinned, "Guys, I think I have a plan. C'mon, we need to go see Aunt Charisa..."
Meanwhile, on the other side of camp...
Murdock sighed as he threw knives at his card-board cut out of Tom Cruise. He was getting prepared for the coming fiasco which would be the Christmas rush. He had to get Christmas presents for his daughter and his 'nieces'. The rush almost always took it out of him, mainly because they had to get it ordered and it took too long and when it finally came, it was Christmas Eve- at night- and it took forever to get it all wrapped up. He only got an hour's sleep before Dylan was awake, ready to go. True, he was used to going for weeks without sleep, but he always tried to be fully rejuvenated for important days with his daughter and he could only pay half attention.
"Hey, Murdock"
Murdock turned to see Face, Hannibal, B.A and Charisa entering the mess tent. Charisa was dressed for bed, while Face, who was only wearing silk pyjama pants, seemed to be dressed for another occasion. Murdock decided to keep his tongue to himself. B.A had come straight from the shed while Hannibal had been doing a few laps of the obstacle course. Murdock grinned his welcome.
"Hello, guys, Miss Sosa" Murdock waved one of his knives jovially, "$20 for whoever can slice off Tom Cruise's head clean"
Face grinned, "Alright, you're on"
Charisa rolled her eyes as her man-child boyfriend joined his best friend and began to throw knives at the life-size Tom Cruise. She sat down at the long table, far away from the contest, while Hannibal sat behind the bar. B.A took a seat in front of the bar, watching Face and Murdock before shaking his head.
"Them fools are hopeless" B.A pointed out
"You two listening?" Hannibal called out to his captain and lieutenant
"Sure are, Colonel" Face replied.
Murdock nodded, throwing a knife, "What's the trouble, boss?"
Hannibal rolled his eyes as Murdock's knife missed its target and hit the tent wall, cutting a clean hole in it. Charisa put her head in her hands for a moment, groaning.
"OK, I've called this meeting to discuss the issue of Christmas presents" Hannibal replied, "We need to find a way to get the presents faster"
"Amen to that, brother" Murdock replied, putting on a ghetto accent which earnt him a look from B.A.
B.A ignored him and turned to Hannibal, "I don't think I can go through another night like that. Hell, Aailyah had to keep waking me up to show me her presents"
"Same here" Charisa replied, "Scarlett was so sad that I was too exhausted to enjoy the present she gave me"
Face sighed, pausing in his knife throwing, "Red... She loves Christmas. I don't EVER want to see that face again. It almost melted my heart"
B.A rolled his eyes, "Well, Colonel, what's the plan?"
Hannibal raised an eyebrow, "I don't know"
Charisa stood up, taking charge a little, "Well, we know we definitely need a quicker mode of transportation for the presents and a place where we can collect the presents all at once"
Suddenly both Face and Murdock froze. They looked at each other before slowly turning to everyone slowly. Hannibal grinned while Charisa and B.A looked on.
"I think you boys have an idea" Hannibal said
Face grinned, "Boss, I think we have a plan..."
Murdock, "I hope you know what I'm thinking, B2, because it's planning time"
As Murdock and Face relayed their plan, a group of youthful girls were froze outside, listening to the plan and allowing this to coincide with their own...
19th December, 0700 hours, One week before Christmas
Dylan sat at the back of her tent, leaning against the fabric, ready for the signal. The wind swirled around her, chilling her to the bone. Dylan wished that she could have waited inside the tent. She had her bag ready and was dressed in her blackest clothes. Suddenly, she felt a person appear next to her.
"Ready, Duke?" Aailyah asked. She had her plaited hair tied back in a black scrunchie. She had her own bag ready next to her.
Dylan grinned in the pitch dark, "Let's go"
The two girls ran off, heading towards Annabelle's tent. They needed to be quick. It was only a hour before take off and they had 30 minutes to get ready to go. As they approached Annabelle's tent, they saw two figures crouched down in the dark. Annabelle and Scarlett waited paitently as the other two reached them. Annabelle gestured to the helicopter pad right next to her tent. Loyal Miss Betty sat on the pad, waiting to be flown.
"Ready, guys?" Annabelle enquired
Dylan saluted her, "Follow you anywhere, ma'am"
Annabelle grinned, "Let's go"
The four girls rushed forward to Miss Betty. Dylan patted her as Aailyah opened the door.
"Hope you can take the weight of four grown men and four growing girls" Dylan whispered, the girls getting in one at a time, "Of course you can"
"Duke, quit talking to the helicopter and get in!" A.K snapped at her.
Dylan rolled her eyes and hopped into the helicopter, closing the door behind her. Annabelle opened up the back room, a small storage cupboard where they usually stored the TNT and other dangerous explosives. She checked that the room was free of anything dangerous and turned to the others.
"C'mon" Annabelle pointed
Dylan, Aailyah and Scarlett quickly took refuge inside. Annabelle entered last, making sure to lock the door behind her. Once inside, Scarlett opened her bag. Inside, as well as her own change of clothes, were different accessories: wigs, fake glasses and other props she took from Face's con kit. Annabelle then opened her bag and pulled out her change of clothes, as well as her actor's make-up kit that Hannibal had bought for her when she was 17.
"OK, guys, let's get changed" Annabelle nodded, "Remember to keep quiet"
Dylan grinned, "This is so much fun. It's been ages since I've been to New York"
"Hell yeah" A.K agreed, "You think we could pass the nightclubs on the way home?"
"Sorry, A.K" Scarlett replied, "They're won't be enough time. Now what do you want? I got old hunchback lady or professional dancer"
A.K groaned, "Ah, I'll take the old lady. Dad will definitely recognise me as a dancer and I choose life"
Scarlett chuckled as she gave Aailyah her complimentary grey wig, black thick-rimmed glasses and large fake teeth, "OK, Dyl, what do you want?"
Dylan paused for a moment, "Can you give me a boy? I think I can pull off a male disguise better than a girl"
"Sure" Scarlett searched through her bag, "OK, I've got a bus boy, a pimp or a homeless guy"
"Gimme the pimp" Dylan replied, "That would be fun"
Scarlett handed her the fake large golden necklaces, the over-large sunglasses, the fake grills and the NY cap, "Alright, Annabelle?"
"Homeless guy out the front" Annabelle replied, "I'll be there keeping an eye out for MPs or worse- our dads"
Scarlett handed out the shaggy white wig, the fake yellow teeth, the empty vodka bottle and the plastic covering, "We'll get some newspaper in New York. The place is covered in them"
Dylan raised an eyebrow at her cousin, "What are you wearing, cous?"
Scarlett flashed her a Face-trademark grin, "You'll see..."
30 minutes later...
"Where are the girls?" Face asked
Charisa shrugged, "I guess they're sleeping in. They did have a slumber party last night"
Hannibal shook his head, "We have to start limiting those things"
"I ain't flying in no copter, Hannibal"
B.A walked up to Hannibal, who sat in the door of the helicopter. Hannibal took a draught of his cigar and blew some smoke out of his mouth, while B.A kept repeating that he wasn't going to get into the helicopter. Hannibal finally jumped down when B.A froze mid-rant. He began to stumble and then fell down. Hannibal caught him, holding B.A up while watching Charisa put away her tranquiliser needle which she reserved for B.A. Face smiled at her.
"You know how much I love you, don't you?"
Charisa rolled her eyes as Murdock, who sat in the pilot's seat, began talking over the P.A, "Alright, gentlemen, let's get ready. We have a long flight ahead of us and we better get there before the sleeping giant wakes up and tears us apart"
Face hurried forward and helped Hannibal put B.A on the helicopter. Hannibal turned to Charisa as Face strapped B.A in.
"Hold down the fort, Sosa. We'll be back soon"
Charisa nodded and moved back as Hannibal closed the helicopter door. She stood and watched as Murdock took off and flew Miss Betty off in the sunset. Charisa turned to leave and go to Scarlett's tent. It was strange that she wasn't up doing the obstacle course yet. But when she walked into her daughter's tent, no one was there. There was a small note on the bed. Charisa walked forward and picked it up, curious.
Dear Mum,
The girls and I have gone with Dad and Uncles B.A, Murdock and Hannibal.
Don't worry about us. And don't tell Dad.
Love you,
Red.
Charisa let out a long suffering sigh, crunching up her letter and massaging the bridge of her nose. Scarlett was too much like her father for her own good. She would definitely be the death of her.
Five hours later
Dylan had gone to sleep on the ride. Long rides always made her sleepy, especially if she couldn't jump about or do something like watching TV. A sharp jolt woke her up. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and looked around the small confinded space. Annabelle was reading 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath, her stylish glasses a great contrast to her shaggy white wig and her homeless guy costume. Aailyah was busy doing breathing exercises. She enjoyed little flights with Murdock but anything over an hour makes her nervous. Dylan blamed B.A's attitude for that. Scarlett was re-painting her green and red fingernails, which went well with her costume: Santa's Little Helper. Her red midriff singlet, shawl and mini skirt, both lined with white fake fur, complimented her red and white knee-high boots with 3 inch heels. She also wore a curly platinum blonde Marilyn Monroe wig, in order to make sure she didn't completely stand out to her father. Dylan looked down at her costume and smiled proudly. In her large fake fur jacket, stylish jeans, her cap and her larger-than-life bling, it would be hard for her to be recognised.
There was another jolt, one that Dylan was familiar with. Annabelle looked up from her book, Scarlett froze in her nail painting and Aailyah opened her eyes, her breathing returning to normal. They had landed. Dylan listened carefully for movement.
"OK, chaps, we have arrived. Thank you for flying Air Murdock" Murdock's voice sounded through the helicopter.
B.A's sluggish voice began, "Wait, what the- how did- MURDOCK!"
"And with that, I leave you" Murdock's voice began to fade away as there was the slamming open and closing of doors, as Murdock ran off with B.A chasing after him. Dylan rolled her eyes as she heard a new voice join the fray, one that didn't belong to any of their fathers.
"Ahhh, Master Peck, I think we spoke on the phone. I'm Mr. Alexander Prince, CEO of Macy's Department Store" the man said, "And I believe the man with you is..."
"Famous director Francis Steffordson" Face's voice replied in a posh British accent.
"I'm pleased to meet you" Hannibal said in a posh accent.
Dylan covered her mouth to not laugh as they listened, "The top three levels have been cornered off for just you. I hope you enjoy your shopping here, Mr. Steffordson"
As they continued to talk, their voices began to fade. When the voices finally vanished, three of them let out a sigh, while Dylan let out a laugh.
"Did you hear Uncle Face, man?" Dylan chuckled, "That is so wierd"
"Oh, please, wait until you hear him do his French accent" Scarlett replied, "That is scary"
"Why? He does it badly?" A.K asked
"No, he does it so good that Mum has to immediately drag him off to their tent" Scarlett shuddered
Dylan barked out another laugh as Annabelle opened the door. She took a peek outside and motioned to them, "Coast is clear"
They all hopped out of the helicopter and gathered in a small circle. Dylan noticed just how strange they would look to outside lookers. She then remembered just how little she cared.
"Alright, we have about two and a half hours to get our shopping done" Annabelle replied, "A.K, do you mind doing my shopping for me? I'll be camped out in the fire escape most of the time"
A.K nodded, "No problem. Now what's our story if we get caught on the top three floors?"
Scarlett jumped in, "OK, my story if I get caught is that I got lost looking for Santa and..." Scarlett put on a sickly sweet voice, "It is so hard to find my way in such a big store"
Dylan laughed, "Yeah, well, I'm a pimp. People will think I'll pump their ass with bullets if they stop me"
"I'm an old lady. I'll just say my son was supposed to meet me and I didn't know where to go"
Annabelle looked from one girl to the next, "Alright, girls, this might work. Sychronise watches"
They all held out their watches and made them identical in time to each other. Annabelle nodded.
"We meet back here at 1600 hours" Annabelle announced, "Ready?"
"Ready" the girls nodded.
Annabelle grinned, "I love it when a plan comes together"
1 hour later, Fourth Floor, Women's Wear
A.K scanned the women's blouses. She had to choose something nice for Charisa, but it was so hard. She didn't know what older women wore. It was hard enough trying to balance her wardrobe with her mechanical duties. She looked at her trolley, which was full of gifts she had already gotten. The special edition collection of the Friday the 13th movies for Dylan, the Poison Study series for Annabelle, a new series of red lipsticks for Scarlett, some new bling for her daddy, with REAL diamonds, a new cigarillo box for Hannibal and a pair of Freddy Kreuger gloves for Murdock. All she needed was a bath relaxation kit for Face and the blouse for Charisa and she'd be set. Then she could get Annabelle's stuff. A.K smirked as she thought of a pair of nice heels she had seen in the shoe section which would be the perfect gift from Annabelle to her.
"Scuse me, ma'am?"
A.K froze. She then remembered that she was a 60-something year old woman with a bad sense of directions. She remembered to turn around slowly, showing that her hunch was greatly troubling, and turned around.
"Yes, sir?"
A.K then froze once again. Her father began to walk towards her, looking very concerned. A.K cursed herself, knowing that her father's weaknesses were elderly people and children. Damn him for being so gentleman-like.
"Are you lost?" B.A enquired
A.K nodded nervously, "Yes. My... My son was supposed to meet me here. That lazy man- he never respects his mama!"
B.A offered his arm, "May I assist you in your shopping"
Aw, crap, I can't say no, A.K thought as she nodded politely to B.A, gingerly taking his arm. B.A then began to push the trolley, looking down at its contents.
"Hey, it's those gloves from that Nightmare wacko" B.A said, "I know a friend would like a pair of those"
A.K smiled, "Oh, really? They's for my nephew. All into that horror stuff"
A.K walked off with B.A, silently praying for a miracle to get her away from this situation...
Meanwhile, on the third floor, Mens Wear...
Dylan was cross. She couldn't find a Star Wars T-shirt for her dad ANYWHERE. She had gotten her uncles all something: a pair of leather shoes for Face, a new hair shaving kit for B.A and a new white wig for Hannibal. She had a nice new dress for Charisa and was even done getting Scarlett that denim mini skirt- and that took forever to find-, A.K that utility belt and Annabelle the writing study book for her uni courses. But all she wanted was an old Star Wars T-shirt for her father and that was the hardest to find. She had been here for about 45 minutes and nothing!
But then... there it was. A Yoda T-shirt, almost identical to the one Murdock had when she was a child. It had gotten damaged in the wash after she used it as a fort flag in a make believe game and she had always felt bad. Dylan reached up to grab it (she silently cursed her tiny height) and just gotten hold of it when another hand, hairy and coarse, grabbed it.
"Hey, what the-?" Dylan began as the hand took the shirt off the rack and handed to her.
She took it gently, "Aw, thanks"
"No need to overreact, fella"
Dylan froze and looked up. Murdock stood there, pushing his own trolley, grinning his crooked half grin at her. Dylan pushed her glasses further up her face, knowing that she would be screwed if he even so much as glimpsed at her eyes, and grinned.
"Sorry" Dylan put on a deeper, gravelly voice, "Ya see, in my line of work, it's hard to trust people, even just doing the shopping"
Murdock raised an eyebrow but nodded as if in understanding, "Gotcha"
Dylan glanced at the trolley, "So, doing some Christmas shoppin'?"
Murdock grinned, "Yeah. I'm gonna make this Christmas the most special one for my daughter yet. She'll be so surprised at what I get here. She's a daddy's girl, my daughter. Takes after me a lot"
Dylan grinned, the pride swelling in her chest as she heard all this, "So, how old's ya girl?"
"16, but she seems so much older" Murdock replied, "She's an old soul"
Dylan smiled and nodded along to him, listening to the conversation. But something was nagging at her to get away. She couldn't leave her father, as his eyes began to shine and he almost started jumping as he spoke of how excited she would be on Christmas morning. So Dylan just stood there and encouraged him, while looking for an excuse to get away...
Meanwhile, on the second floor, Toy Department...
Scarlett searched the toy department for Dylan's present. She already had Annabelle's present, the Austen Collection of Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility, and A.K's hair beads for her plaits. She also had gotten Mum some bath salts and a nice suede suit for her dad. Then there had been the uncles. She had gotten Uncle Hannibal the Santa suit that he had wanted to add to his disguise kit and B.A a pair of dog tags to replace the ones he had lost on a mission earlier that year. She even had his facts engraved on them, like his blood type and date of birth. Murdock had been tricky- what do you get a guy that has everything? Then she remembered how he and Dylan went through that crazy for political movies ages ago and how he wanted to see the movie Bobby, but kept forgetting. She bought the two-disc special edition in the metal cover. He would totally love that.
Now, it was time to get Dylan's present. She really wanted a new Nerf gun and they had brought out this new version of the Maverick, one that didn't break so easily. She was inspecting it and decided to grab it, along with a couple packets of refill bullets because Dylan had a habit of easily losing bullets, especially since she kept shooting stray rabbits with them.
"Charisa?"
Scarlett turned at the sound of her mother's name. Then froze in stunned horror when she saw who had said the name. Face stared at her, his eyes open wide, mouth a little agap. Scarlett clutched her basket full of presents tightly. What now? Face's shock then turned to anger.
"Scarlett? What are you doing here?"
Scarlett then turned on her 3-inch heels and ran. She could hear Face quickly catching up with her and ducked behind a shelf carrying stuffed Santas and reindeer. As Face ran past, clearly not seeing her, Scarlett held up her bracelet, which had a tiny microphone planted in it- an invention by A.K- and turned it on, speaking into it in a whisper.
"Code Mauve. Code Mauve. My position is compromised. Over"
Annabelle sat in the freezing cold fire escape, watching the security cameras that she hacked into using her laptop, when she heard her microphone bracelet going off. Scarlett's voice started sounding out of it.
"Code Mauve. Code Mauve. My position is compromised. Over"
Annabelle froze. Crap. She put her microphone to her mouth and began to speak.
"What source has compromised it? Over"
Annabelle paused and listened for Scarlett's reply.
"The eagle. Over"
Shit. Face. He was the biggest mouth in the team. He would be quick to inform the others. There was no point if the others weren't done. They had to get out of there!
Annabelle switched the channels so that everyone on the line could hear them. She scanned through the cameras and paused before she spoke. She saw A.K stuck in the hygiene section with B.A and Dylan listening entranced by Murdock's wild tale. Damn, she couldn't compromise them like that. She opened her music player and turned on her microphone, as she played her favourite Christmas song...
Dylan froze as she heard a song being emitted out of her bracelet.
'Hip, hip, hooray, it's Christmas vacation!'
Murdock paused in his wacky story and looked at her, "Are you going to answer your phone?"
Dylan breathed an inward sigh of relief, "Yes, of course"
She turned around and pulled her phone out of her pocket, the music stopped, and she spoke into it, "Hey, Daddy Mac, talk to me"
Annabelle's voice came out, a little whisper, "Red's been compromised. We gotta go"
"Alrighty, son" Dylan heard Aailyah's voice, "See you soon"
"OK, Macky. Be right there" Dylan replied in her slickest tone, "I'll be seeing ya"
As Dylan turned off her microphone bracelet, she heard a voice behind her, "Murdock!"
Dylan froze and turned around. Face was approaching Murdock, ignoring her, panting. Murdock raised an eyebrow at him.
"You really need to start doing the obstacle course again" Murdock told him.
Face shook his head, "Never mind that, I just saw Scarlett in the toy department"
"Scarlett?" Murdock's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure. She took off the moment I said her name" Face replied.
Dylan began to slip off, but not as she heard Face's last words.
"And if she's here... there's a good chance that the others are too"
She could feel their eyes on her back as she began to walk away. She turned back to wave goodbye but ended up walking into a mannequin. Its hand knocked her sunglasses off her face. Dylan quickly scrambled to pick them up, but not before Murdock got a good glimpse of her eyes. He stared.
"Dyl?" He was at first surprised, but then..., "Dylan Audrey Daisy Murdock!"
Oh, no, Dylan thought, the middle names. Clutching onto her things, she ran off, fast. Her regular training kept her way ahead of her father and uncle, allowing her to disappear in the men's wear. She put her bracelet to her mouth, talking as she ran.
"Code Mauve. Code Mauve. Eagle and Fox on my tail" Dylan gasped out as she ducked in between a group of mannequins, causing Face and Murdock to fumble and fall into them. Dylan grinned, looking back for a minute, and kept running...
A.K had jumped at the sound of the 'Christmas Vacation' song. She quickly thought of an excuse to tell to the startled B.A.
"Sorry, my daughter got me these new wierd ass phones" she explained, "She musta put the song on there"
She put the phone to her ear, the music went off, and she listened to Annabelle's voice.
"Red's been compromised. We gotta go"
Shit. A.K looked behind her at B.A, who shifted nervously. How was she gonna get rid of her father without rousing suspicion?
"Alrighty, son. See you soon" A.K said into the bracelet.
"OK, Macky. Be right there" A.K heard Dylan reply, "I'll be seeing ya"
A.K rolled her eyes as she turned off the microphone. She turned and hobbled over to B.A.
"Listen, sir, thank you for your help, but I think I can manage now" She replied, "Don't you got some shopping to do for your family?"
B.A nodded, "I've already done everyone except my daughter. She's a young lady now and it's so hard. I just wanna make her happy"
A.K felt her heart melt as she listened to her father, "How old is your daughter?"
"18"
A.K nodded, "Yes, I remember when my daughter was that age. Listen, go back to Women's Wear and get a pair of skinny jeans. If she is anything like my daughter, I'll bet you she'll love them"
B.A smiled, "Thanks, ma'am. See ya"
"Thank you" A.K replied as she watched B.A walk off. She smiled to herself. Two birds with one stone: she was definitely gonna have a good Christmas.
Suddenly, a huge weight came flying into her, knocking her down. She clutched at the trolley for support, toppling it over. A.K quickly picked up all the presents and put them into her large bag, before turning to tell off her assailant for knocking down a 'lil ol' lady'. A.K then gaped at the heap that was Dylan Murdock.
"Duke" A.K hissed in a whisper, "What do you think you're doing?"
Dylan jumped to her feet, looking behind her, "Didn't you get my call? Dad and Uncle Face are chasing me"
"We have to go now, then" A.K nodded.
"Face, Murdock, quit jabbering like crazy fools and speak!" the two girls heard B.A's voice less than 10 metres down the corridor.
They looked at each other in horror and turned, running for the fire escape. A.K put her bracelet to her mouth.
"Mac, fourth floor fire escape! Open up!"
The door to the fire escape opened up, Annabelle poking her head out of it, Dylan and A.K only a metre from it, when the whole A-Team appeared around the corner. Hannibal was in a pin-striped suit with a pipe hanging out of his mouth. Both he and B.A gawked as they saw the three of them.
"Annabelle?" Hannibal gawked at the homeless man in the fire escape
"Aailyah?" B.A stared. A.K reached for her hair to realise she didn't have a wig on. She must have lost it when Dylan tackled her.
"RUN!" Dylan shouted, pulling A.K into the fire escape as Annabelle slammed the door behind them. The two girls stumbled on the staircase and quickly regained their balance as Scarlett appeared, running up the stairs.
"I'm so sorry. Dad recognised me!" Scarlett told them
"Too late to apologise, Red" Annabelle replied as she jammed the door with a pole, "Let's get out of here!"
There was a bang at the door and, with that, they ran up the fire escape. They ran the whole two flights of stairs to the helicopter pad without stopping. Annabelle opened the door to the roof gingerly, peeking outside. There was no one but Miss Betty. At Annabelle's signal, they all ran to the helicopter. Dylan jammed the door as she was the last one out. They all ran to Miss Betty like the Devil was after them. They opened her up and ran for the storeroom. Dylan closed the doors behind them as they ran in, locking the storeroom door as well. They had a good five minutes to get their breath back, after which Dylan began to laugh.
"That... was... the most fun... I have had... in ages!" Dylan laughed, "That adrenalin rush... the thrill of the chase... you couldn't that unless you were in an action movie"
Scarlett shook her head, grinning at her cousin, "Only you could laugh at this!"
"Well, she won't be laughing much after I'm through"
They all leapt as they saw Murdock standing at the doorway, Face and Hannibal flanking him. A.K froze in fear.
"Where's Daddy?" A.K gulped
"Drugged. We figured we might as well let him deal with you back home" Hannibal replied
They all had the grace to look a little ashamed of themselves. Murdock stared at his daughter, exasperated, "Why did you guys come?"
Dylan shrugged, "We wanted to get you guys all good presents this year and those order idiots could never get it for us. The Christmas presents we ordered for you guys didn't come until a month after Christmas. We had to make Christmas presents for you guys and give the other presents at birthdays and all that"
Scarlett nodded, joining in, "We were planning something like this anyway. We were gonna ask Charisa about it, but then we overheard Dad's and your plan, Uncle Murdock..."
"...And I thought, why not?" Annabelle interrupted, standing up, "This was my plan. Don't blame Scarlett, Aailyah and Dylan. This is my fault"
Dylan leapt to her feet, "No way are we letting you take the rap for this alone, Mac and Cheese. This is my fault too!"
"Same here" Scarlett got up too, standing beside Annabelle.
Aailyah got up and joined them, "Yes, I'll even face Dad when he wakes up"
Hannibal stepped forward, looking at them, one to the other. He shook his head, "Whenever I look at you four kids, I just see us reflected back at us"
"You did disobey us" Hannibal looked at them sternly, "But since it was for a good reason and it is Christmas... I guess we could go easy on ya"
Face nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I guess so. Murdock?"
Murdock glared at his daughter. She blushed and stared back at him. Finally, his face broke out in a grin.
"Of course"
Dylan ran forward and hugged her dad, an action which was copied by Annabelle and Scarlett. Aailyah watched on in the background, until Hannibal gestured to her. Aailyah smiled and ran up, hugging her 'sister' and 'uncle' tightly.
Scarlett then broke her embrace, raising her eyebrows, "Just one question...How did you know it was me? My back was turned to you!"
Face grinned at her cheekily, "You have your mother's legs. That was a dead giveaway"
Dylan, Aailyah and Annabelle laughed as Scarlett blushed. Murdock turned to them, smiling.
"Alright, troops, let's go home"
It would be wrong to say they had a good Christmas or even a great Christmas. But Dylan thought it was right to say that it was unbelievable.
Thank you for reading. The longest one shot so far! Four fan fics down, one more to go!
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