A/N: After The A-Team, one of the things Dirk did was a workout video called Steel Stomachs. It's widely seen as hilarious and there is a short clip of it on YouTube. There was talk of turning it into an A-Team ff...so I did. If you're not familiar with the video, it's worth the two minutes of your time.
"Flabby!" Face scoffed to himself as he changed from his suit into a pair of black athletic shorts and white shirt. Hannibal's words from earlier rang in his ears as he placed the suit onto the pile for the dry cleaner. "Let me tell you this, Hannibal, I'm a lot of things," he muttered as he grabbed a pair of white athethic socks and slipped them on, then pulled on a pair of white sneakers. "Tanned. Tonned. Blonde. Charming. Suave. However, flabby is certainly not on that list!"
It was just a side comment made by Hannibal during their last job, but the word still wouldn't leave his mind. Wasn't he the one who ran on the beach when they weren't running after small town crooks and rescuing pretty girls? Did Hannibal really think that he could pull off half the things he did if he was flabby?
He did a few stretches then set off across the evening beach sand for a quick jog and when he returned, he stripped off his 'Private Excersize' shirt and dropped it in the laundry hamper. Still peeved, he headed to the fridge to grab a bottle of water and headed to the large, open, carpeted living room. He huffed to himself as he got down in the sprinter's take off position and stretched. He had a better six-pack than any of them. He probably had the ONLY six-pack out of all of them. BA's muscles hid under more muscles, but other than that, Face was fit as a fiddle and he knew it.
"Uh, Colonel, shouldn't we call him so he knows we're coming?" Murdock tossed a ball up in the air in front of him over and over as the van drove down the road. "Hate to interrupt a date or anything. What's her name this week?"
"Mindy. He told me it's Mindy. Apparently she's going to be in a movie he's producing," Amy made no effort to hide her eye rolling as she grabbed the tennis ball from mid air. "Knock it off, will you, Murdock?"
He ignored her irritation as he slipped her a small bottle and syringe and grabbed the ball back from her hand. "Just sayin, he might want to pack or something since it's a long drive and SOMEBODY cries like a baby at the mere mention of the talents of Captain HM Murdock being put to use in the wide open sk..."
"Shut up, Murdock!" BA snapped finally, his fingers gripping the steering wheel. "I'd still rather drive all night with you in here than fly!"
Hannibal laughed. "Be careful what you wish for, Sergeant. You don't want him to sing all night again. No, we'll just surprise Face. Keeps him on his toes."
Amy dropped BA's injection back on Murdock's lap and shook her head. He stared at her with wide eyes. "It's your turn!" He pressed it back into her hand with a firm look.
"Murdock!" she hissed at him, but pocketed the syringe. Fine. "You owe me!" she mouthed.
It wasn't long before BA pulled up and they all piled out behind Hannibal. He grabbed the door knob, surprised it turned. That wasn't like Face. Hannibal opened the door and BA, Amy, and Murdock all followed closely behind.
They froze. "Uh...Face?" Hannibal questioned, but left it at that.
Murdock cocked his head and stared intently. Finally, he managed to find a few words. "What...what exactly are you doing, Faceman?" He frowned in concentration, trying to make sense of the way Face sat on the floor, legs up in a very interesting position. "And you should probably put your legs down more...normal," he finished off awkwardly.
Amy was trying very hard to NOT look at Face as he stumbled to his feet. She didn't know which was worse, those awful white socks pulled up to his knees, those short shorts, or that position...what was that, a stretch? Finally, she cracked up. "I'm sorry, Face," she managed to choke out. "What's that move called? Some sort of a sit up?"
He mumbled something in reply, then said a little more clearly, "You could have called! Or at least knocked! Who just walks into someone else's home, anyway?"
"You do, Lieutenant!" Hannibal was trying hard not to laugh too. "Get your things. We're headed out."
Murdock quickly moved past a still-speechless BA and right in front of Face. "We couldn't hear you, Face...what was that called again? Enlighten us, oh Tanned One! What, you working on abs of steel?" He poked Face in the abdomen and barely missed getting smacked.
"If you must know, Murdock, that was the Squeeze Play move. There, are you happy now? Can't a guy work to keep what he has? You know, if it wasn't for my physique, I wouldn't be able to charm our way into half the things we do!" He pushed past him and headed for the shower. "Ten minutes, Hannibal."
BA snorted. "Squeeze play. I bet." Leave it up to Face to do that move and name it that name.
An hour later found them soaring high above the clouds, most of them enjoying the view of the late-hour sun slipping away as they headed into Mexico. Face checked BA's restraints again, then slipped into the cockpit. Thankfully, no one had spoken of earlier, and he hoped it would remain that way. "Everything ok up here, Murdock?"
"Right as rain, Face. Might pretty from up here. All passengers properly restrained?"
Face dropped into the co-pilot seat. "And resting peacefully."
Murdock flew in silence for a few minutes, then finally spoke. "Hey Face...some day? When this is all over and we're not evading MPs and I'm not shacked up in the loony bin - someday when it's all over..." he trailed off, leaving the serious thought hanging in the air.
"Yeah? Someday what?" If they ever managed to get pardons, could they even live normal lives, Face wondered? Did they want to? Is that where Murdock was going? These serious thouhts from him were a rare thing, so Face listened intently. "Someday, Murdock. Someday."
Murdock stole a glance at Face and cracked his gum loudly. "You should make a work out video."