FF A-team: Conned

Face has always been the conman of the team and he was extremely good at what he did too. What happens when he gets conned by someone else? Someone he has known in the past and who just loves to prank him.

I do not owe any of the characters mentioned in this story.

CHAPTER 1

It was 4 at night when the phone rang at Hannibal's. The team had just gotten back from a case and they all needed some downtime as they were exhausted. Hannibal woke up abruptly and angrily stared at his alarm. What kind of idiot would wake him up in the middle of the night? Not many people knew where to reach him? Who got in trouble this time? He sat up in bed and reached for the phone.

"Hello?" He said groggily.

"Hannibal? Is that you?"

"Face? For crying out loud, kid. It's the middle of the damn night. Why are you calling me anyway?"

"Well … I'm sorry … You see but … I might have a slight little problem."

"What kind of a mess did you get yourself into this time?"

"Why do you assume that?"

" 'Cause that's what usually happens when you need my help, kid. So what is it this time?"

"I …uh … I … Jeez, Hannibal. It's kind of embarrassing for me to ask you this, but … uh … could you come and get me?"

"What on earth for? You have that fancy car of yours, don't ya? Why can't you drive yourself? You're not drunk or anything, are ya?"

"No … It's nothing like that. I just can't drive …uh … 'cause … uh … my car has been … uh … stolen somehow."

"Your car was stolen? How? Do you know by whom?"

Hannibal was wide awake by now.

"Uh … Yeah … I guess I do."

"You guess …. Hmmm. Okay, I'll come and get you. Just stay where you are. You're not hurt, are ya?"

"No, but … uh … Hannibal …uh … I'm not home. You see … I'm at the Courtyard Inn in room 204."

"Oh kid. When will you ever learn to stay away from those skirts? I told ya, didn't I? Yet you fall for that same trick every time. You're a damn smart kid, but if I didn't know any better I'd say you're a dumb fool to fall for that. You haven't spotted Decker, have ya?"

"No, Colonel. I did check. He's nowhere to be seen and I didn't spot any MP's either. But man you should have seen her …"

"Spare me the details, Lieutenant. I'm on my way."

"Uh … Hannibal … uh … before you hang up, could you … uh … do me another little favor?"

"Now what?"

"Could you …uh … maybe … bring some money to pay for the room and … uh … some clothes to wear?"

"What? Lieutenant, just what exactly has been going on there? Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, I decided I could really use a drink after the case. You know. So I went to a bar and I met this gorgeous woman and we started to talk. So I bought her a drink and we kind of hit it off and she invited me over to her hotel room for a night cap."

"And you didn't say no to that."

"Off course, not. I'm not stupid, Hannibal. Who would turn of the invitation of a beauty like that?"

"I don't know about that, kid. So then what happened?"

"Well, we ordered champagne and enjoyed each other's company and she asked me to spend the night. And … uh … well … I did. You know. But when I woke up just now, she was gone and so were all of my clothes, my wallet and my car keys."

"So, let me get this straight. She seduced you, stole your expensive designer clothes and the keys to your sports car and left you to pay for all the expenses?"

"Yeah … that about covers it."

"Jeez, kid. She got you good." Hannibal couldn't help but smile. "Okay, I'll come get ya. But I'm using the fire escape to come up. I'll knock when I'm there, okay? At least try to be decent."

Hannibal drove up to the hotel, parked his car in the neighborhood and went in search of the hotel's fire escape. It didn't take him long with his expert knowledge and he made his way up to the indicated room. He softly knocked on the door and Face quickly opened it to let him in.

"Oh boy, Hannibal! Am I glad to see you!"

"You're looking sharp, kid."

Face only had a towel wrapped firmly around his slender waist.

"Ha, ha. Very funny! Did you bring me some clothes?"

"Yes. I brought you a pair of my sweat pants and a t-shirt you can wear for now. It's no designer brand, but it ought to do for now."

Hannibal handed the clothes over to Face. He sighed.

"Stop complaining, will ya Face. Put these on and let's get going."

Face did as he was told and emerged from the bathroom dressed in his Colonel's clothes. Both men made it out of the room and escaped the facility by using the fire escape once again. They all but ran to Hannibal's car and he drove the both of them back home. They were silent the whole time. They arrived at Hannibal's place not much later.

"Are you okay, son?"

"Yeah, I'm fine … I'm just really tired."

"Sure."

"I feel so easy, Hannibal. I mean … she … I really thought she was in to me. You know? She stole my favorite Armani clothes, my wallet, my watch and my 'Vette. I just don't get it. Why didn't I notice her leaving? It's part of my military training, isn't it? And why didn't I see this one coming?"

"My guess is she drugged you somehow, kid. That or she wore you out."

Face sighed once again. He had a hard time remembering what exactly had happened that night.

"Don't worry, kid. We'll get your stuff back somehow. You go and get some rest first. You need it. We'll think of a plan in the morning."

Hannibal sent Face off to bed in his guest bedroom and went to bed himself. Face, however, couldn't sleep. He kept tossing and turning and thinking about how this could have happened to him anyway. Finally he managed to doze off somehow …