Unforeseeable Danger:
The Return of Kyle
Chapter One
It had been over a year since the mall incident happen and it had been a while since the twins had seen Decker as well. In that time missions have been accepted and completed by A-Team and both twins had grown like weeds. They were starting to look more like adults than children and their father was having a hard time dealing with the fact he had two teenagers living under his roof. The twins also had developed their own personal style that was completely opposite from one another.
Ashley was very outgoing and had turned out to be quit the tomboy and very much like her father in every way possible much to Hannibal's surprise. Clothing wise she preferred to wear jeans, t-shirts, hoodies and western boots. Ashley never really had a hair style except for the fact that it was all one length down to her waist when she would leave it down otherwise it was pulled back into a ponytail, braided in different fashions or stuck under a ball cap.
She loved shooting guns and would practice as much as her father would let her. He was also teaching her how to fight and defend herself since she went out with him and the team so much. She read and took as much survival courses as she could too. She enjoyed being outdoors whenever the weather was nice and playing sports with other kids she could join up with in the park or with her best friend, Rodney, Decker's son.
Despite all of this, she also began begging her father to let her wear make-up. He wasn't quite ready for her to start that just yet though he was thankful she was still interested in some girly things besides the other things he was already letting her do. However, he would tell her he would think about it some more, but he knew at some point he was going to have to give in and let her.
Chris on the other hand was more of a homebody and was very easy going. He would rarely go out on missions unless he was already stuck there with them or Decker stuck up on them. Hannibal concluded that Chris was very much like his mother from the short time he had with the twins' mother. For Chris clothing wise it was jeans and any old shirt would do plus sneakers. He was also letting his hair grow out too, but Hannibal didn't say anything as he was letting the kids do their own thing and letting them be kids.
He spent his days reading books, playing video games on his computer or on one of his many consoles or drawing pictures if he wasn't chatting with some of his online buddies about different video games or whatever they decided to talk about for the day. If you caught him outside it was because Ashley dragged him out there to get some fresh air and to spend time with her. Otherwise, he would drag her into playing video games with him or chatting with his buddies when the weather was bad.
In all honesty, Hannibal had a great couple of kids any father could ask for. For the most part they were very well behaved, well-mannered and polite. Not that they still didn't get themselves into trouble, but what child didn't on some occasion. Overall, he was proud of the adults they were growing up to be and he had no idea how he managed to do it either let alone the help he had from Face, BA and Murdock.
Meanwhile, Decker kept true to his word and looked into the death of the twins' mother and everything that lead up to it and after. He was sadden by what he read that was reported about the death. The kids saw their mother get shot from what the report stated. How awful he thought as he looked at the picture the newspaper had used showing the twins as infants with their mother. Not even two yet and they had to witness something that terrible.
As he continued to read he found out what the reasoning behind her death was and how the kids ended up with Smith. She was killed over a small piece of land that was blocking access to a larger piece of land that Kyle wanted because she wouldn't sell her land to him. Decker sat there and wondered how many times Smith and his team had run across Kyle. There was the ranger station, the incident with the twins' mother's land and the run-in where he was nearly blown up where he rearrested Kyle again after his hospital stay. He still didn't know the full story on that situation.
Sighing and rubbing his eyes he looked up at the clock and saw what time it was. Shit! He was supposed to be on his way to pick up his boy from the park as he promised. Quickly, he put everything back in the file he was putting together and quickly made it out the door. He was going to be a bit late, but thankfully his son understood how things went some times.
It wasn't long before he was at the park he was to pick up his son. Thankfully, he knew where to go look for his son and it didn't take him long. He was over at the basketball courts playing a game of two on two and one of those just happened to be a girl. The girl apparently was on his team and they worked pretty well together. Obviously, they had played together before and as he got closer he heard his son yell her name.
"ASHLEY!"
Chapter Two
Decker watched as Ashley passed Rodney the ball as she broke free of the one boy guarding her and trying to get the ball from her. My goodness, she has really gotten tall since I last saw her. He watched her for a second before turning back to his boy as he threw the ball up towards the basket where it went in easily. The second that it did both his son and Ashley yelled and ran to each other high fiving as they did before turning to the other boys.
"Hey, good game you two." Ashley stated as she held out her hand.
The boys both shook her hand and did the same with Rodney before they went to gather their things. As they did Rodney waved up at his dad to let him know he knew he was there before following Ashley to get his things.
"Hey, my dad's here. You should go say hi to him." Picking up his water bottle as Ashley looked up to where Decker was waiting at.
"You know what I will. It would be nice to see him again. It's been a long time besides running at the first sound of sirens in the distance." Laughing a bit as she picked up her bag.
Rodney shook his head at her as the pair started heading towards his dad. Decker watched as the two talked as they walked his way. It was quite obvious the two of them were best friends and had been since the day they played against each other. It wasn't long before the kids made it up to him.
"Hey dad!"
"Hello, sir."
Decker couldn't believe it as she neared him. What happened to that twelve year old girl he last saw playing street hockey against his son? What stood before him now was a nearly fourteen year old young lady that was starting to look every bit like her mother except for the eyes. She still had her father's eyes.
"It's been a long time, young lady. I can't believe how much you've grown and how pretty you are getting to be. How have you been and where's your brother?"
"Good, sir, and thank you for the complement. As to my brother, he's probably nose deep in one of his video games." Blushing just a bit still from the complement she received.
Decker laughed just a bit. Still as polite as the first time he met her and surprised to hear and, of course, see that the twins have developed their own interests. One was outgoing and the other wasn't.
"Well, tell your brother I said hello and you be careful going home."
"Thank you, I will and I'll let him know. Bye, sir. Bye, Rodney."
"Bye." Both Decker and Rodney said together.
Ashley waited a bit before heading in the direction of the apartment complex she lived in that wasn't far from the park. She trusted Decker whole heartedly, but it still didn't mean that he wouldn't use her to get to her dad and the others.
Chapter Three
Three months later on a lazy afternoon Hannibal decided to give the twins an early fourteenth birthday present by taking them out to start learning how to drive. Granted it was a year and half too soon, but them knowing how to drive when it came down to the wire should they continue to go out with them would be very beneficial to the team.
Though lately, Chris was staying home even more than before instead of going out with them unlike Ashley. Chris was having a hard time handling the stress that came with being shot at or whatever was thrown his way unlike Ashley. Ashley enjoyed it too much like him and he feared that being just like him was going to get her hurt or worse. He prayed it never happened.
So when he walked into the living room where they were watching TV together and told them of his plan he was met with mixed emotions. Ashley was super excited and ready to go and Chris acted like he didn't care one way or other. However, Chris picked up the remote and turned off the TV and followed his sister and father out of the apartment.
Hannibal drove them out to the countryside of Los Angeles where there would be little to no traffic to teach them how to drive. Of course, Ashley wanted to go first and since Chris didn't seem to care about it Hannibal let her go first. Teaching Ashley was easier than he thought it would be. After getting everything adjusted to where she needed it all to be and giving her a few pointers about driving and such he turned her loose.
Other than a couple of mistakes that just comes with not knowing how to drive Ashley did a great job he thought for her first time. Next was Chris's turn and Hannibal had Ashley find a safe place to stop at so they could switch places. After finding a stopping place and the twins traded places it was Chris's turn to get everything where he needed it to be and to listen to his dad.
Although Chris had the advantage of hearing and seeing everything Ashley did Hannibal made no exception and gave his son the same talk. After that Hannibal turned Chris loose to start his learning. Of course, Chris did a little bit better than his sister, but it became more of a teasing match between them than anything else after Hannibal decided he was done teaching Chris and had him pull over to trade him places so they could get back into town for dinner.
Getting back into town Hannibal took the twins to their favorite pizza place. From the way they were acting he could tell they were still picking on each other about who was the better driver. It was still a mystery to him how those two could talk to each other without saying a single word out loud, but they've been doing it since before they could talk. About the only thing they couldn't do was laugh without making a sound.
Once inside he ordered their pizzas and got them two of them seated at a booth after they got their drinks filled while talking to them about driving and other things with them. Over all it had been a pretty good afternoon and evening with the twins as they all started walking back to the car. As the twins waited for Hannibal to unlock the car a voice they hadn't heard in a couple of years broke up the nice evening. Both twins looked up as Hannibal turned around and there stood before them was a terribly scarred Kyle and another man with guns drawn.
Chapter Four
Hannibal was about to tell the twins to run when two more men came up behind them with guns drawn. No use. Out man and out gunned. He couldn't risk it. The twins were thinking the same thing as they felt guns get pointed at their backs. After a couple of moments they felt the guys behind them nudge them forward as Kyle walked up to their dad and pushed him forward towards the van they pulled up in.
Forcibly all three were loaded up into the van and off it went. After a few seconds Kyle turned around facing Hannibal and the twins. Kyle was pretty scarred up on his left side from the explosion. Ashley wished it would have done more like she thought it had, but here he was again.
"I must say, Smith. The kids sure have grown since the last time I kidnapped them and nearly got blown up by you all." Looking at both the twins before looking at Hannibal.
"They tend to do that, but I know this isn't a catch up reunion with you, Kyle. So what do you want this time?" Hannibal said coldly as Ashley was giving him a go to hell look.
"I see! Right to the point." Laughing just a bit. "It's simple. I want you three dead along with everyone else as soon as we get you all collected. I'm just still working on what order to kill everyone in first except you will be last, Smith."
"Is that so?" Laughing just a bit himself. "And how do you plan on doing that? The others won't be as easy to get. You got lucky with us with our guard down and outmatched."
"We'll see about that, Smith."
The van came to a sudden stop in front of an old abandon building somewhere in the oldest part of the city. There the twins and Hannibal were separated from each other and taken off into two different directions once they were out of the van. The twins had no idea what lay ahead for their father as they were shoved into a small room where their hands and feet were tied together behind their backs. After the door was closed, locked and everything had gone silent the twins scooted back to back where one of them started working on untying the knot on the other.
"What do you think he's going to do with dad?" Chris asked.
"I don't know, but it didn't sound like it was going to be pleasant for dad. However, if I had to guess it would be to get information on how to find Face and BA so he can get them here too."
"So you're saying he's going to beat dad up until dad gives him the information he wants."
"That's what I'm guessing, but dad's strong. He'll never tell Kyle where they are."
Ashley looked over her shoulder to see Chris go wide eyed for a second.
"What if he starts using us to get dad to talk?"
"He'll end up having one of his goons come get one of us first and we'll be ready to take him out when they come in here. We'll use the same rope they tied us up in to our advantage." Getting Chris untied.
"That was fast. I guess those survival courses you've been taking are paying off."
"Thanks! I just hope they'll continue to pay off to get us and dad out of here if dad doesn't get to us first."
"Me too, Ash." Working on getting Ashley untied.
Chapter Five
It wasn't long before the twins were completely untied and had set up part of the rope to trip whoever came in the door next. The plan was to trip them, knock them out, tie them up and take whatever weapons he might have on him then go get their dad. Not too overly complicated and should work relatively easy Ashley hoped. All they had to do was wait and they hoped it would be long. They both were worried about their dad and for the safety of the others.
After what seemed like hours they heard footsteps coming their way and got prepared as they heard the door being unlocked. Soon the door was open and the henchman took a step inside only to be tripped like Ashley had hoped for and down he went. Quickly, Ashley jumped up and punched him in the face as hard as she could knocking the man out. Chris quickly ran up to them handing Ashley the rope where she tied him up as Chris searched for weapons.
Soon the man was tied up and Chris handed Ashley what he could find – a 45 auto with an extra clip and a pocket knife. Not much, but it'll do as Ashley took the gun placing it behind her back in the waist band of her jeans under her hoodie and put the clip in the pocket of her hoodie. After that they locked the man in the room and off they went to find their dad.
Meanwhile, what the twins had feared may be happening to the father had come to life. Kyle had been beating and torturing him to get information on where Face, BA, Murdock and even Decker could be located at. At the moment Kyle was taking a break as he sent one of his men to get the girl. He was getting nowhere as he expected doing what he was doing. Maybe he'll talk when it's one of his kids getting their head bashed in.
As Kyle was stepping out of the room, Ashley just so happened to peek around a corner and watched him leave wiping his bloody hands off. She knew who's blood it was and she was pissed. She just prayed her father could still walk once they got in there to help him. She gave Kyle a few minutes more to clear out from the door and hallway before motioning her brother to follow her as she lead him to where their dad was.
The twins were not prepared for what they were about to see as they entered the room and saw their dad in the condition he was in. It wasn't a very pretty sight and it took everything for the twins to not get sick and upset. Ashley had to quickly hush her brother before he gave their advantage and position away as she moved in closer to their dad. Reaching out, she checked to see if he still had a pulse and as she did he lifted his head up.
"Ashley?"
"Shhh, dad. It's okay. We've escaped and we're going to get you out of here." Ashley whispered as she motioned Chris to hand her the pocket knife so she could cut the rope.
"No, you two need to get out of here and get the others."
Ashley ignored his order and quickly went to cutting the rope as fast as she could. Once the rope was all cut the twins got on both sides of their father, swung an arm around each of them then lifted their father up to his feet. Carefully, but quickly they started to make their way out of the room and down the hall. They were almost to the exit door when someone fired a gun at them. The twins turned around with their father in tote to see Kyle and two of his men standing not far behind them pointing their guns at them.
"Not so fast! I'm not through with you yet."
"Ya, well, tough shit! We're through with you, Kyle! Like that explosion should have done." Ashley threatened back.
Chapter Six
Kyle laughed at the girl's threat. She was in no position to be threatening him. Quickly, without warning Kyle pointed the gun at Ashley and fired once. Ashley felt the sudden pain of being shot as she took a step back from the force of impact, but she took action quickly on her part and took the step forward as she reached behind her back and pulled out the gun she was hiding.
As Kyle watched her pull out a gun he fired a second time at her hitting her again, but at the same time she zeroed on him and shot him in the head right between the eyes. Kyle fired a third shot out of memory response, but the bullet hit the ground in front of them. Ashley never flitch as she continued to hold the gun out towards the other two men waiting for them to make a move towards them.
Soon the gun fire was over. Kyle laid dead on the ground from a single shot to the head and Ashley was still standing holding the gun out front with two shots in the chest. The two men that had been standing beside and behind Kyle took one look at him dead on the ground then looked at the girl holding the gun.
"FUCK THIS!" one yelled.
Both men turned and took off running away leaving behind Kyle's dead body and the other man the twins took out. It wasn't until she heard her name and her father was taking the gun from her did she really know how serious her condition was until she got a little light headed and started falling to the ground.
"Ashley!" Hannibal called out as he tried reaching for her, but wasn't quick enough in his current condition.
"D-dad!?" Falling to the ground in pain and as she hit the floor the extra clip she had fell out of her pocket.
With help from Chris, Hannibal made it down to the floor beside Ashley. He could tell she was scared and was in a lot of pain as the adrenaline was wearing off, but he quickly took note at where the gunshots were located at. Not good. They were both close together and almost dead center of her chest. She needed to get to a hospital now as she didn't have much time before things were going to turn bad for her. He quickly looked up at Chris who was scared half to death, but he had to get his son in gear to help.
"Christopher John!"
"Yes, sir!" Napping his head towards his father.
"Son, I know you're scared, but I really need your help right now."
Chris nodded his head and started listening to exactly what his father told him to do. First, he helped his dad back to his feet then carefully helped his sister back to hers. Second, he helped them both into the van and ran around to the driver's side of the car like his father instructed. Unfortunately, the keys were nowhere to be found. Hannibal quickly gave his son a crash course on hot wiring a car after getting the pocket knife from Ashley.
After a couple of tries to get it started and stay started Chris finally got it and soon they were off. As Chris drove as quickly to the hospital as he could without getting into an accident or draw too much attention to them, Hannibal kept talking to Ashley about anything and everything he could think off. He had to keep her mind off her situation and keep her conscious for as long as possible too.
It wasn't long before he started hearing her coughing and it was getting harder for her to breath. He knew at least one lung was filling up with blood and he prayed the other one would hold out until she got to the hospital. However, it wasn't looking good as he watched as she was quickly starting to lose the battle.
Chapter Seven
By the time Chris pulled into the emergency side of the hospital Ashley had passed out and Hannibal wasn't any better from the beating and torture he took, but Chris jumped out as soon as he had gotten it park and ran inside to get help for his sister and dad. Quickly, the hospital staff was out and to the van with everything needed to get started to get them inside.
Chris listened as the staff called out to each other as they pulled Ashley and Hannibal out of the van and rushed them inside with Chris following close behind. It wasn't until one of the hospital staff gentle push Chris back and that he had reached his no further point. He stood there as he watched his sister go into one room and his father into another room.
A few moments passed as he watched people rushing around from what he could see through the door, especially to one room, before he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and he turned to see a nurse had approach him. At first Chris didn't hear a word that she was saying to him as she gently guided him to sit down in the waiting room. There were a few other things Chris didn't hear or maybe he did and he just didn't know how to react to it just yet, but after a couple of tries her words started reaching him
"I-I'm Chris."
"Nice to meet you, Chris, and can you tell me the names of your sister and dad."
"Ashley and John."
"Okay. Chris, do you think you can call your mother to be here with you or would you like me do that for you?"
"N-no mom. She died a long time ago, but I do have other family I can call." Starting to look for a phone.
The nurse's heart broke for a moment when Chris said his mother was dead, but was relieved that the boy had family he could call. Smiling, she helped him find the phone there in the waiting room then left the boy so he could make his phone call in private. Chris dialed the first number he could think of and waited as it ranged a few times and he was about to hang up and try another number when he finally heard the other line get picked up.
"Hello!"
"F-Face, its Chris."
"What is it, Chris? You sound all shaken up."
"It's dad and Ashley. They've been hurt pretty bad. Can you please come to the hospital?"
"What do you mean hurt, Chris?"
Face nearly dropped the phone when Chris told him everything that happened and what hospital they were all at. Face told Chris just to hold out just a little bit longer until he and BA got there and that everything will be all right. After reassuring Chris that everything would be okay Face quickly hung up and dialed BA as he started heading to the hospital.
Chapter Eight
It seemed like forever for Chris, but soon Face was walking into the waiting room Chris had been put in. Face could tell the boy was very upset and scared all at the same time and it torn Face apart seeing the young man like this. Just from what Chris was able to describe over the phone must have been much worse for him to see.
"Has anyone been back to tell you anything about Ashley or Hannibal yet since you been here?"
Chris shook his head no as tears started to fill his eyes and Face quickly pulled him into a hug. Face didn't know how long they stood there, but the moment was broken up when the nurse Chris had been talking to earlier stepped in causing them to break up the hug and stare at the nurse. The nurse just smiled and walked over to the pair as if nothing happened.
"I'm happy to see you managed to get a hold of your…"
"Uncle." Both Face and Chris said at the same time.
The nurse smiled at the two before pulling Face aside to tell him what been going on since the arrival of the boy's father and sister. Face followed the nurse after giving Chris a squeeze on the shoulder. Once outside the waiting room the nurse turned to Face.
"Normally, I would inform the family all at the same time, but I didn't want to upset the boy anymore than he already is with the good and somewhat bad news I have so far."
Face cringed just a bit, but stayed quiet as the nurse continued.
"The boy's father is going to be the good news I have. He has a few broken ribs, some head trauma, some burn marks and lots of cuts and bruises, but nothing to be too concerning about. He'll be fine in a few weeks with plenty of rest."
The nurse paused for a few seconds before continuing again.
"The bad news is his sister is in ICU. She came in already passed out with two bullets just centimeters from her heart. Had they been any closer and she would be dead. During the surgery to remove the bullets they did lose her twice. Right now she is having a hard time breathing and seems to be in a lot of pain from all the trauma and surgery, but with medication and the aid of a breathing machine she is resting quietly at the moment."
Face stared at the nurse. It was like déjà vu all over again and Face nearly turned white at the information dealt to him about Ashley.
"She…She's going to be all right in the end, right?"
"The doctors believe she will be. Right now it's a little touch and go, but she seems to be quite the little fighter and with the trouble the nurses are having with her father I can see where she gets her fighting spirit."
Face suddenly breathed a sigh of relief like he had been holding it forever at the positive news that Ashley would be okay. It was just going to take some time.
Chapter Nine
A couple of days went by and Hannibal had been released from the hospital, but hadn't officially left due to Ashley still being there. The good news was she was moved from the ICU wing to a regular room about the same time Hannibal was released. She was still in a lot of pain, but was breathing well enough on her own to be taken off the breathing machine.
This eased everyone's minds, especially her brother's. He never told anyone, but he had actually felt her passing and it really scared him. That day he learnt just how connected they were to each other and it was going to be really hard to deal with later in life when they really died for good.
Finally, after a few more days Ashley was released from the hospital. She was well enough that she could finish healing at home and that was good news to her. Even though she was give a list of do's and don'ts to follow. She really hated hospitals and pretended to agree to follow them when she got home.
What she didn't know was there was a long awaited talk that was coming to her from her father. Chris had already gotten his talk a few days ago and there was no arguing that Chris was done going out with his father and his uncles. This was the last straw for him. He wasn't cut up to do this kind of stuff anymore.
On the way home the twins were joking around with each other and continued to do so all the way into the apartment. The joking around came to an abrupt end when Hannibal asked Chris if he would give Ashley and him same time together. Chris knew what was going on and nodded his head as he went to his room. Ashley's turn.
Hannibal went over and sat on the couch then motioned Ashley to do the same beside him. He could tell Ashley was confused as she sat down beside him then looked up at him about to ask what was going on when he put up his finger to stop her. Ashley nodded her head and waited for her father to speak.
"I know you're confused as to why I've asked to talk to you alone. I have already talked to Chris about what happen the other day, but now I need to talk to you about it, especially since it is different with you." Hannibal paused for a second. "I want you to know that you are NOT in trouble for anything you did. I've taught you right from wrong and when exceptions should be made, but I want to hear your thoughts about it and how it makes you feel."
"I'm totally fine with what I did, dad. I consider it justice well served and would do it again if given the chance. He wasn't going to quit coming after us, torturing us and so forth. I've done us and everyone that he threatened a big service." Ashley paused for a moment before continuing. "But having said all that I do wish it was someone else that pulled the trigger, but what's done is done. There's no going back just forward and I hope there will be more times to come to help those in need without killing anymore."
Hannibal was quite surprised with what she said and it just proved him more at how much she was like him. She didn't regret her decision even though she nearly died from it, but he had to agree with her that he too wish it was someone else that pulled the trigger and not his beautiful little girl. Lastly, it sounded like she planned to continue to go out with them. Too much like her old man he thought. So be it.
Chapter Ten
Several days earlier, back in the abandon building a body is being loaded up and taken away and another seemingly had been arrested after being found tired up and locked in a room. There isn't much left to find after doing a through sweep of the place. Just a few stray fingers prints, dried blood, vehicle keys and fired weapons. All of it was collected and taken back to run.
After running everything it was determined that both guns had been fired and all but two sets of prints came back as Kyle's, Kyle's three men and John "Hannibal" Smith. Decker had Crane send out an APB on the two missing men to be found and brought in to be questioned as well. The one that was tied up didn't have much to offer except that Kyle had planned to capture every member of the A-Team, the kids and Decker himself and kill them all in a grand revenge killing spree.
To say at the very least he didn't get all that far as Decker looked at the pictures of Kyle's dead body and pictures of the room filled with all kinds of torture equipment and blood splattered everywhere from someone being beaten. It was later determined to be Smith's blood. It was a wonder Smith's body wasn't found there too, but it seemed the kids must have gotten to Smith in time. He hated to imagine what those two saw and thought seeing their dad like that.
Next Decker looked at the two unknowns and he already knew who they belonged to. The twins and the set that covered the gun and extra clip bothered him the most. It meant one of the twins used it thus leading to Kyle's death. Though he had to admit damn good shot and well desired and overdue if you asked his opinion. Plus, knowing everything he knew about the history between Kyle, Smith and the kids this was self defense and an end to everything.
Honestly, looking over everything this was a closed case once the other two men were brought in and questioned. He wasn't going to go after Smith or the kids over this. Those kids had been enough with everything dealing with Kyle that they didn't need to be put through anymore. The man was now dead and would no longer be after them even though it was one of the kids that did it. More or less a bitter sweet ending.
Quietly, he put everything back in its file and placed it on top of the filing cabinet to be file later then left to go pick up his son from the park. Maybe one day he'll find out which of Smith's kids fired the fatal killing shot and their side of the story.