Title: Getting Away
Author: Dana
Rating: PG I think.
Warnings: Language, character hurt, blood, and character death.
Summary: The Team finds out who hired the three thugs to kill the Attorney General.
Author's note: This is an answer to what if Without Reservations happened after The Gray Team. This is also a sequel to Why is This Happening
Disclaimer: Not mine. They belong to Stephen J. Cannell.
Archive: Yes with comment card.
Getting Away
By Dana
Villa Cuchina was almost ready to close for the night when Amy Allen walked through the door. She looked around for Murdock and saw that he had his back to her as he cleared off a table. "Murdock!" She called.
Murdock spun around and his face lit up when he saw Amy. He ran over to her and hugged her. "Amy! What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Jakarta."
"I was hired by the New York Times three months ago. I was sent here to write a story about the attempted assassination of the Attorney General." Amy answered.
Murdock grimaced at the memory of Face being shot by thugs in this restaurant only three days before. "Yeah. I was working that night." He said sadly.
"I know you were. Murdock there's something you and the others need to know. Is there any way we can talk in private?" Amy asked.
"Let me finish working and we can go to my apartment. Sit at a table and I'll get you something to drink." Murdock said and hurried away to finish working.
Twenty minutes later Murdock unlocked the door to his apartment. He turned the lights on and pointed to the sofa. "Let's sit down." They did so. "I'm happy to see you Muchacha but how did you know I was in DC?"
"Like I said I'm doing a story on the shooting. Well two of the men agreed to talk for a shorter sentence. They said a man by the name of Stockwell paid them to assassinate the Attorney General."
"Oh no!" Murdock said. "He's the one who promised the others pardons! I knew there was something fishy about him."
"Murdock that's not all. One of them said they were also supposed to shoot a five foot ten blond hared man named Peck for a bonus. The guy said Stockwell told him that he'd be easy pickings."
"I've got to tell Hannibal." He said grabbing the telephone and dialed the van number.
'Yeah.' Hannibal's voice answered.
"Can you guys come to my apartment and bring Face?" Murdock asked.
'Murdock! Face is still in the hospital! We can't just go there and sign him out.'
"You've got to Hannibal this is an emergency! Stockwell was behind the whole attempted assassination of Liebster."
'What?!'
"You gotta get Face out somewhere safe. They were ordered to kill him too." Murdock answered.
'We'll be there as soon as we can.' Hannibal answered.
Murdock hung up the phone. "They're on the way." He said to Amy standing up and started pacing.
***
Hannibal and BA entered the hospital, leaving Frankie in the van, and ran to Face's room. They found him alone. "BA you bring Face. I'll go sign him out." Hannibal ordered.
Hanibal left the room and found the doctor standing outside the room. "You can't sign him out! He's too week to be moved."
"I'll sign whatever papers I have to. But Face is leaving." Hannibal said in determination.
Stockwell approached them. "Look Colonel. Lieutenant Peck is getting the best treatment available here. You'd be risking your man's life by moving him."
"We're out of here Stockwell. I know you don't care if Face lives or not since you're the reason he was shot." Hannibal looked up and saw BA standing there with Face in his arms.
"I don't know what you're talking about Colonel. I'm the one who got Peck in here without the military police being informed." Stockwell said faking surprise.
"You're all heart Stockwell but we know you were the one who put the hit on Liebster." Hannibal drew his gun. "I should shoot you right now. But I won't because that won't do Face any good. Let us leave or I might change my mind." He said in a deadly tone.
Stockwell stepped aside and allowed them to sign Face out and leave. After they went out the door, he turned to Abel 4 and Abel 8. "Go after them."
***
Face was laid in the back of the van confused. He could hear Hannibal on the phone talking to Murdock.
"Murdock meet us in front of your apartment building. We're five minutes away." Hannibal said hanging up.
"Johnny we are being followed." Frankie yelled from his spot next to the sliding door.
Hannibal leaned out his window and shot out the Abel car's wheels.
BA hit a bump in the road and quickly regretted it when he heard Face cry out. "Hang in there little brother."
Frankie opened the sliding door when they reached Murdock's apartment. Frankie was the first to notice Amy. "Hey who's that?" He asked watching Amy and Murdock run to the van.
"Hey guys." Amy said sitting down in the seat across from Frankie.
Face looked up. "Amy?" He asked.
Amy turned around. "Face." She said surprised by the way that he looked. She knew Face had been shot but it still shocked her. He looked very tired.
Hannibal turned his seat around to look at Amy. "Good to see you kid. I didn't know you were in the states."
"Been back for a couple months. I'm in DC on assignment."
"So what brings you to us? Does it have to do with Stockwell?" Hannibal asked.
Amy went on to explain how she found out the team was still alive and in Langley Virginia and that, Murdock worked for Villa Cuchina. They were stunned when she told them about what Joey and Angelo told the police.
"Stockwell! I knew we couldn't trust him Hannibal." Face said trying to sit up and gasped.
"Calm down Face. Here Amy give Face one of these." Hannibal said passing her a bottle of painkillers.
"So what's the plan Hannibal?" Murdock said from his spot next to Face.
"We get as far away as we can. Maybe head for Canada." Hannibal said.
"What about Maggie's?" Amy asked. "Wouldn't it be better for Face?"
"That'll be the first place he'll look Muchacha." Murdock informed her crawling past Face, who was almost asleep, and to the other seat.
"Hey guys anyone want to introduce me to this fine young woman?" Frankie asked. Without waiting for a response he stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Frankie Santana. And you are?"
"Amy Allen." Amy said while shaking his hand. She was almost repulsed by the smile on Frankie's face.
"Maybe you and I could go out for dinner sometime." Frankie said not letting go of her hand.
'He's worse then Face.' Amy thought as she got her hand loose. "No thank you."
"Cool it Frank." Hannibal said turning his chair back around. "BA find a small motel for the night. Tomorrow I want Murdock and Amy to get another car. We'll have to split up. Stockwell isn't going to let us go that easily."
***
"You lost them?" Stockwell asked the two Abel's standing in front of them.
"They blew out our tires General." Abel 4 informed him
"Well they couldn't have gotten far. They have an injured man. Search all motels that are around here." He ordered them. They quickly went to do so. "Carla when Abel 12 calls in put him through right away. He'll be able to tell us where they are."
***
The van stopped at a motel near Germantown Maryland. Hannibal went into to get three rooms for them. He came back five minutes later. "Okay BA and I will share one. Amy you get your own room. There will be a rollaway bed in the third for either Frankie or Murdock. Face gets a normal bed." He said while distributing the keys. "I suggest everyone get a good nights rest. We've got a long day ahead of us."
BA opened the back of the van and lifted Face who was still asleep. Murdock hurried in front of them to unlock the door.
"What about the van Johnny? Don't you think that'll be the first thing they'll look for?" Frankie asked as they followed the others.
"The owner said there's a place where we can stow it. I told him that there was something in the van that would be ruined if it was left in the cold." Hannibal said. He pulled out a cigar and lit it. He needed to come up with a plan fast.
***
Face woke up the next morning in confusion. He didn't know where he was. He saw that he was in a motel room somewhere. He snuggled down further in his sheets. He could faintly hear Frankie on the phone.
"Don't worry no one can here me. Peck's still asleep and Murdock went to get a new car. We're headed for Canada...Not sure where in Canada he didn't say...I'll call later."
Face sat up when he heard Frankie turn on the shower. 'What was going on? Whom was Frankie talking to?'
He picked up the telephone and dialed zero. "Hi. I was wondering if I could get the last number dialed from the room. I need to call the person back and somehow lost the number. Thanks." Face said writing down the number.
He jumped when he heard the water turned off. He pushed the number on the covers and laid back down wondering why the number sounded familiar.
Disclaimer: Stephen J. Cannell owns the A-Team. I claim everyone else.
Rating: PG I think. Warnings: This part has swearing and a tad bit of violence. You have been warned.
Author's note: This is an answer to what if Without Reservations happened after The Gray Team.
Summary: Frankie goes crazy.
Frankie came back into the room drying his hair with a towel he sat on his rollaway. He looked over at Face who hadn't gotten up yet. "Hey Face its almost 10:00." He said while putting his shoes and socks on. "Murdock should be back soon."
Face sat up and stared at Frankie for a second. "Hey who were you on the phone with earlier."
"My father. I was just checking on how he was doing." Frankie said.
Face got up slowly and started for the door leading to the hall. "Funny I thought it was Stockwell." Face said reaching for the door handle.
Frankie's grabbed Face's arm. Face turned around and saw the anger in Frankie's eyes. "Well, it wasn't."
"Okay I believe you." Face said walking past him to the bathroom. He closed the door and leaned against him. He just didn't have the strength right now to argue. 'Maybe I'm wrong. But I know I've seen the number before.'
Frankie looked over at the bed of Face and found a piece of paper sticking out from under the covers. He looked at it and groaned. It was the number he had just dialed. He was going to have to do something with Face because he obviously suspected something.
He started to go for the door when he heard the bathroom door open. He made sure the dead bolt was locked before looking for something to knock Face down with. He didn't think he'd need to kill him. Just knock him down and get out of there quickly. He found that part of the rollaway was broken and took the part off the bed and made sure it wasn't showing.
Face re-entered the room slowly. The shower helped lessen the pain but it was still there. "Hey Frankie I just wanted to apologize for accusing you of calling Stockwell. I know that I was wrong."
"Hey no problem Face. I'm sorry if I got angry. Guess I'm just tired of being accused of not being on your side." Frankie said almost forgetting the piece of metal.
"So when's Murdock do back?" Face asked turning to look out the window. He didn't even see the metal coming for his side. He fell to the floor holding his side with tears in his eyes.
Frankie started to go for the door when he saw through the peephole that Murdock was in the hall. "Shit." He quickly turned the dead bolt. He looked over and saw Face was still lying on the floor where he had fallen. He saw Murdock had stopped at Hannibal and BA's door so he still had a few minutes
He grabbed the telephone and called Stockwell. "Peck knows...Will do." He turned back around to face Face still with the piece of metal in his hand.
***
"Go tell Frankie and Face we are leaving in half an hour." Hannibal instructed Murdock.
Murdock nodded and headed down the hall to his room. He inserted the key in the door and tried to unlock it. The door wouldn't open. He started to knock on the door. "Frankie? Face? I think the dead bolt is locked. Anyone in there?"
He got no response. He tried to look in the window and saw Face still lying on his bed. He started to tap the window to get the attention of Face but it didn't work.
He started to get a bad feeling about this. He thought that maybe Face was still too weak. He went to get BA to employ his method of opening the door.
Frankie unlocked the door and started to run down the hall when he heard BA yell, "Frankie wait!"
Murdock rushed into his room to find Face still laying on the bed unconscious with a head wound. "Face?" He asked gently shaking him.
"Murdock?" A voice asked.
Murdock looked down and realized it wasn't Face. He turned around and saw Amy standing at the doorway.
"Hey Amy. See if you can find the first aid kit in the van." Murdock instructed.
"Sure Murdock." Amy said and left.
Murdock looked around the room and noticed a piece of metal on the floor. 'What's going on?' He wondered. He looked behind him when he heard the door open. He saw Frankie being pushed into the room by BA.
Hannibal followed them and glared at the young man. "Talk." He ordered after closing the door.
"About what?" Frankie said looking Hannibal straight in the eye.
"How about you start on why you were running down the hall." Hannibal said sitting down in a chair.
Amy came into the room with the first aid kit. Murdock quickly motioned her over to where he was. She did so and helped him bandage Face's head.
"I needed something to drink and knew I had to hurry because I knew Murdock and Amy would be back soon."
BA glared at Frankie and started to raise a fist at him. He knew that the guy was lying and wanted to know why. Hannibal held up a hand as a silent way of stopping BA from doing anything.
"Hannibal I found this next to Face's bed." Murdock spoke up holding up the piece of metal.
Hannibal took one look at BA and saw that he was ready to pounce on Frankie. "BA why don't you go get some ice for Face's head?"
"But Hannibal..." BA started to say.
"Now Sargent." Hannibal ordered. BA left the room slamming the door behind him.
Frankie was looking around nervously. He had to get of there quickly but he didn't have much of a chance.
"Did you hit Face with this?" Hannibal asked holding up the piece of metal.
Frankie didn't answer. Luckily for Frankie, Face's moaning distracted Hannibal.
Face started to sit up and felt dizzy. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes, which didn't help as things started spinning in front of him. He was feeling nauseous and he started to throw up when a basket was shoved in front of him. When he was done, he laid back down.
Frankie could barely hide a grin. If Face had a concussion, he might not remember what happened.
"Face?" Amy asked gently lifting Face's eyelids and saw that his pupils were enlarged. She watched as Face opened his eyes again. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.
Face stared at the fingers for a few seconds. Everything was still spinning. He saw two Amy's looking down at him. "Four." He answered.
"He's definitely concussed Hannibal." Amy informed him.
"The area where he had been shot looks red like he had been hit there too." Murdock informed him. "But I don't see any signs of broken ribs."
Hannibal stood staring at Frankie who was looking straight at him his expression never wavering. "Start talking Santana."
"Like I said I was going to get a soda. Maybe someone came in here when I was taking a shower. But I tell you Hannibal I didn't do this." Frankie answered.
"Face what is the last thing you remember." Murdock asked.
Face was silent for a few seconds as he tried to remember. "I was talking to Frankie. I don't remember what happened after that."
Hannibal stared at Face for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Frankie. "Looks like you got lucky Frank but that doesn't mean I trust you." BA came back into the room with ice. "BA I need you to carry Face down to the car. We are leaving. Amy could you go please check us out?" BA lifted Face up into his arms and Amy opened the door. They left the room.
"What about Frankie?" Murdock asked.
Hannibal took out a map. "We are taking him with us. I don't trust him enough to leave him here. Murdock you, Amy, and Face will go one way." He circled the route number making sure Frankie hadn't seen it. "BA, Frankie, and I will go another but we will all meet at the same place."
"Good luck keeping BA from killing Frankie." Murdock said looking the map over.
"Yeah well I don't know how much I can stop BA though." Hannibal said and looked up to see Frankie looking around nervously. 'Good he should be nervous. I am going to ring his neck after I ring Stockwell's.'
Amy came back into the room. "Okay Hannibal we're checked out. BA's waiting outside."
They filed out of the motel. Hannibal kept a firm grip on Frankie's shoulder. He shoved Frankie into the waiting van and closed the sliding door. "You have Face's phone?" He asked Murdock.
"Yeah. Good thing we saved it after his vette was ruined." Murdock said.
"Check in every hour." Hannibal said before getting into the van.
"Sure colonel. See you there." Murdock said and he and Amy got into the car. Both vehicles took off in two different directions.
***
An hour later Stockwell was looking over papers and trying to figure out where in Canada the team may have went. Frankie had been no help.
"General Stockwell?"
"Yes Carla?" He asked looking up from his papers.
"Abels 3, 6, 16, and 25 are here. They have brought her along."
"Let them in." He said as he started putting away the papers. He looked up as the Abels entered. "Ah Miss Bancroft glad you could join us."
"I didn't have much of a choice. Your men kidnapped me." Ellen said as she was forcefully pushed into a chair.
"I need the A-Team back here and you will be the one to bring them." Stockwell said as he picked up the telephone.
***
Hannibal picked up the phone that had been ringing in the van. "Yeah?"
'Colonel Smith this is General Stockwell.'
"What do you want?" He asked angrily. He mouthed Stockwell to BA who was looking at him curiously.
'I want you and your team to return to Washington. If you come back I will make sure Peck will get the medical treatment he needs and this whole incident will be forgotten.'
"No deal Stockwell. Not after what you tried to pull."
'Oh I think I might have something better to persuade you.' There was a pause before Hannibal heard Stockwell say, 'Tell him who you are.'
'Hannibal?' A tentative voice asked. 'It's Ellen.'
"Ellen?" Hannibal asked surprised. And grabbed onto the dashboard as BA swerved at hearing the name. BA pulled the van over.
Stockwell came back on. 'Ellen will be released when you and the others rejoin us.' The phone clicked.
"What was that about?" BA asked.
"Stockwell's got Ellen." Hannibal said and picked up the phone.
***
"So you see Amy there is a difference between Canadian water and our water." Murdock wrapped up a conversation about the difference between Canada and the US as he drove.
Amy could only shake her head. Nothing had changed with Murdock. He was still the same crazy pilot he was three years ago. "That is fascinating Murdock." She turned around and noticed that Face was still asleep.
Murdock saw her do this and offered a smile. "He'll be okay Muchacha. Don't worry. He'll probably sleep through most of the trip."
"Do you think Frankie did attack Face?" Amy asked. She didn't really trust Frankie and thought he was capable of doing that.
"I think so. Only he and Face know what happened and Face doesn't remember it." The phone ringing interrupted him.
Amy answered it. "Hello?"
'It's Hannibal. Put Murdock on.'
"Hannibal wants to talk to you Murdock." She said handing over the phone.
Murdock pulled the car over. "Howling Mad Murdock here."
'Murdock we've got a problem. Stockwell has Ellen."
Murdock glanced back quickly checking that Face was asleep. "So what's the plan?" He asked.
'We're going back to Washington.'
"Well we are closer to Washington then you are. We'll meet you at the house." Murdock said not liking this one bit.
'Okay.' The phone clicked as Hannibal hung up.
Amy looked over at Murdock questioningly as he pulled the car back onto the freeway. "What's going on?" She asked.
"We're going back to Washington. Stockwell has Face's sister."
"Wait. Face has a sister?"
"Half-sister named Ellen Bancroft. He found her a few months ago. Stockwell knows that will bring us back." Murdock said as he took the next exit and headed back to DC.
***
Forty-five minutes later, Stockwell entered the house in Langley with fifteen Abels. Ellen was quickly placed in Face's room and had two Abel's with her. A car pulled up in the driveway. He saw A woman he didn't recognize exit the car. He also saw Murdock behind the wheel. "They are here." He turned to the Abels. "Go greet them."
Murdock gently shook the shoulder of Face. "Come on Face. Wake up." He said.
Face opened his eyes and saw a blurry Murdock looking down at him. He was glad to see he was no longer seeing double. "Where are we?"
"Langley." Murdock said helping him sit up.
"Langley? How..." He started to ask and stop when he saw Abel 19 behind Murdock.
Murdock turned around. "We didn't need a welcoming party. We already know how to get to the front door." Abel 19 didn't say anything just motioned him out of the car with the gun. Abels 22 and 8 led Amy into the house. Abels 18 and 3 helped Face out of the car.
Face was feeling sick again. He had been jerked out of the car too fast and before he could stop himself, he threw up on Abel 18. He was shoved to the ground.
"Hey! The man's injured." Murdock protested breaking free from the other Abels. They allowed him to bend down and help Face back up slowly. "You okay now Face?"
"Yeah." Face said weakly. "I'm just sorry that wasn't Stockwell." He said quietly enough so no one but Murdock could hear him. Murdock chuckled.
"Glad you find this amusing Captain." Stockwell said from the doorway. He looked at Amy closer. "You must be Miss Allen. Frankie told me about you. You are the one who told the team about what I did. You'll be sorry for doing that." He turned to Abel 8. "Take her up to the room Miss Bancroft is in."
"Ellen?" Face asked in confusion as they entered the house.
"Oh they didn't tell you lieutenant? Your sister is here too." He looked Face over and noticed the bandage on his forehead. "You'll be taken back to the hospital as soon as Baracas and Smith are here." He looked at his watch. "I would have thought they'd be here by now."
Murdock and Face exchanged quick looks. They both had a feeling that Hannibal had a plan.
***
"So what's the plan Hannibal?" BA asked as the van pulled to a stop a block from the house.
Hannibal didn't answer him. He got out of the van and opened the sliding door. "Out Frank." He said. Frankie jumped out of the van. Hannibal got back into the van and instructed BA to drive. Frankie was left standing there in shock.
"What are you doing Hannibal? If Frankie does work for Stockwell..."
"I have a feeling that he does. We are just getting rid of excess garbage. Take a left on the next street." Hannibal instructed. "We need to know what we are up against."
"How are we going to do that?" BA asked.
"Just watch."
***
Face and Murdock, who were seated on the couch, watched as Stockwell paced the front room. "Maybe he got lost." Murdock suggested. "I get lost all the time."
"I'm sure you do Captain but that is not of the importance."
Frankie was ushered into the room by Abels 12 and 16. "They ordered me out of the van." He said.
Stockwell turned and looked at Face and Murdock. "Did you check them?" He asked Abel 8.
"Well no sir. I didn't think..." Abel 8 said. He stopped when he saw the look on Stockwell's face. He searched them and found a wire on Face.
Stockwell picked up the closest phone and called Hannibal. "Nice try Colonel." He said as soon as Hannibal had picked up.
'I didn't think you'd find it that soon.'
"Listen." Stockwell said and nodded to Abel 1. Abel 1 punched Face in the stomach the moan of pain was easily heard over the telephone. "Surrender or that will get worse." He said and hung up.
Murdock jumped to his feet and was about to attack Abel 1 when guns surrounded him.
The Abel's allowed Face to get back to his feet. He sat back down on the sofa and tried to hold back the tears. "If he's hurt any more I'll..." Murdock started to say.
"You'll what? Attack me? You'll both be shot in an instant." Stockwell said. Murdock just glared at him.
The door being kicked down interrupted them all. Standing there was BA. BA punched the Abels that were quickly approaching him. He knocked a couple out before he was overpowered. They tied his hands behind his back and was sat on the couch next to Murdock. He looked over on the other side of him and saw Face had a pained expression on his face. He silently cursed Stockwell.
"Where's Colonel Smith?" Stockwell asked BA. He got no answer. "I want to know where Smith is and I want to know now! He yelled and went to punch Face.
BA kicked him away with his left leg. "Don't touch him." He warned.
Stockwell signaled his men not to go after Baracas. "Now tell me Sargent. Where is the Colonel."
"Don't know."
Stockwell sighed and turned to Abels 23 and 20. "Take Peck to his room. And stay there. You know what I want you to do."
BA and Murdock exchanged looks. What was Stockwell up to? They wondered.
The two Abels dragged Face out of the room. He was thrown into his room. Amy and Ellen stood there watching. The door closed and was locked. Face sat on the floor watching wearily as a gun was taken out and the safety clicked off.
***
Outside of the house Hannibal stood leaning against the wall. He had been very lucky that no one had seen him yet. He started to slowly move around the house and stopped at the window of Face's room. He peered in and saw the gun being pointed at Face. The trigger was slowly going back. He dove through the window at Abel 20. Glass was flying everywhere. As he hit the ground he heard the gun go off. He looked around and saw Ellen and Amy was fine. He turned around and saw Face lying on the ground unmoving. Abel 23 stood there unsure what was going on.
Hannibal hit Abel 23 in the back of the head and then threw both the Abel's out the window after removing their guns and tying them up. Amy and Ellen hurried over to check on Face. "How is he?" He asked.
"He was again in the stomach." Ellen said.
Hannibal was angry with himself. He knew it was his fault Face had been shot. But he was lucky that they had only caught him in the stomach. "Either of you know how to fire a gun?"
They both nodded. "I took lessons after being kidnapped by Owen's men." Ellen said.
"I took some classes on the military base while I was in Jakarta." Amy said.
"Good." He said and passed them both some guns. "I am going to go out there. You two stay with Face and see if you can get the bleeding to stop. I'm going to let Stockwell know I'm here. If any of Stockwell's men come in here shoot them." They both nodded.
He opened the door a crack and looked out. The coast was clear. He crept out slowly and could hear Stockwell yelling at his men.
"Go find Smith." Stockwell said to the rest of the Abel's. Only three stayed with him. They were Frankie, Abel 1, and Abel 14.
Hannibal crept around the corner and saw that he had a clear shot and shot Abel 1. Murdock grabbed the gun that the Abel had dropped and pointed it at Stockwell. Murdock kept the gun pointed at Stockwell and Frankie as Hannibal untied BA.
"There's something I want to know from you before I shoot you now Stockwell. Why did you have Face shot?" Hannibal asked as he training his gun at Stockwell.
"I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out Colonel. It's quite simple. You walked right into a different set up so I changed the plan. They were told to shoot and kill Peck and Liebster."
"Why Face?" Murdock asked. "I was there also."
"If they shot you and you died no one would take notice. To them a waiter was killed during a hit. However, if an A-Team member were shot everyone would take notice. Everyone would know the A-Team weren't killed by a firing squad."
"You're crazier then Murdock. And now you're going to pay sucka." BA said. If he had a gun, he would have shot Stockwell right there and then.
Stockwell looked at all of them nervously. They wouldn't hesitate to shoot him.
"You tried to kill Face twice Stockwell. Why?" Hannibal asked.
Stockwell smirked. "Ah you want the real reason. Well that's not as easy for you figure out I would suspect. But he knew too much. I was lucky you never paid attention to his complaints. Frankie reported to me that he was starting to question what was going on and was about to leave. Well I couldn't let that happen. Then he started to suspect Frankie. If he had gone to you about his suspicions, everything would be ruined."
"But the second time?" Hannibal asked.
"Did you actually think you were all going to leave here alive Colonel? He was already injured. It was more like putting him out of his misery."
BA punched Stockwell in the jaw. That's when all hell broke loose. Abels started to run into the room. Frankie pulled out a gun and aimed it at Hannibal.
Murdock took out his own gun and shot Frankie.
Frankie fell to the ground dead. Murdock didn't like having to kill people but Frankie didn't leave him much of a choice.
The Abels seemed to stop in their tracks as Frankie fell to the ground.
***
(This scene takes place at just about the same time as the scene before it)
In Face's room, Amy and Ellen were struggling to stop Face's bleeding. Face started to come to and was struggling to sit up. "I'm okay." Face's voice barely a whisper.
There was a loud bang as a gun went off. Ellen and Amy were so surprised that they couldn't stop Face from getting up. He collapsed to his knees. This was not his day. He had a concussion, bruised ribs, and now another gunshot wound to his stomach. 'How did I get to be so lucky?' He wondered as he struggled to his feet again. "Ellen give me your gun." He ordered his sister.
"Face you are in no shape to go out there." Amy said.
"Look I've got to help them. One of them might have been shot. Ellen give me the gun. I can still aim a gun even with a concussion."
"What if you hit the wrong man Face?" Ellen asked.
"Trust me Ellen on this." He said. Ellen reluctantly handed him her gun. He allowed them to help him out of the room.
***
Stockwell was furious. Frankie was his second in command. He lifted his gun to point it at Murdock. He pulled back the trigger at the same time Face entered the room.
Face pointed his gun at Stockwell and pulled back his trigger. Stockwell didn't see him.
A gun went off but it wasn't Stockwell's or Face's. As Face fell to the ground, he looked around for the man who nearly shot him. His eyes fell onto Hannibal who still had his gun pointed at him. "No." Face said in disbelief.
Stockwell turned and grinned at him. "You trusted the wrong person Lieutenant."
Face looked at the others in the room. Murdock stood there with a shocked look on his face. He brought up his gun and shot Stockwell between the eyes. Hannibal stood over Face with his gun pointed at him. "No!" He yelled. The pain caused him to black out.
***
"Face?" A voice was calling his name.
Face opened his eyes and realized he was in the back of a van. Murdock was looking down at him in concern. "Hannibal..."
"Yeah kid?" Hannibal asked turning his seat around to face the back of the van.
"But I thought...the gun..." Face didn't want to finish the sentence.
"Face I wasn't trying to shoot you. I was trying to distract Stockwell. You couldn't have aimed a gun well enough to shoot Stockwell in your condition." Hannibal explained. "I was about to put my gun back in its holster when you blacked out."
"We're here." BA said as he pulled up to the entrance of DC General. He parked the car.
Hannibal jumped out and opened the sliding door for the van. BA came around and lifted Face from the back of the van. He carried Face in and started yelling for a doctor.
A doctor met them. Murdock almost laughed when he saw it was Dr. Green. The same doctor who had treated Face two days ago after he was shot.
Dr. Green stopped in his tracks. He quickly regained his composure. "Same gunshot wound or a new one?"
"New one. He was shot about thirty minutes ago." Hannibal said as he came up behind BA.
"Okay. Swenson take him to exam room two. I'll be in there in a second." He instructed an orderly. "You want to tell me what's going on?"
"He was shot in the stomach again. He also has a concussion and some bruised ribs." Hannibal said.
The doctor shook his head. "I suppose you aren't going to tell me what happened are you?"
"No sorry doc. Just take care of Face please."
He nodded and walked down the hall. BA, Hannibal, and Murdock took seats in the waiting room. A half-hour later Amy and Ellen joined them.
"We've told the police about as much as we could." Amy informed them. "They are going to be looking around the house for the rest of the day."
"How's Face." Ellen asked.
"The doctor hasn't come back out yet. Luckily for us it was the same one that treated Face a couple days ago." Murdock said.
The doctor came out fifteen minutes later. "He'll be all right." He informed them. "He lost a lot of blood. I'd like to keep him here three days a week tops. I would still like to know how he ended up in t his position."
"It's a long story. I'd rather not go into it." Hannibal informed him. "Can we see Face?"
Amy's pager interrupted them all. She hurried off to make a phone call.
"I don't see why not." Dr. Green said. "He's being moved to room 329."
Everyone, except Amy and Dr. Green, took the elevator to room 329 and entered. Face was sleeping. There was an IV bag filled with blood attached to one of his arms.
They stood around his bed and watched as Face's eyes fluttered open. "Hey." He whispered.
"Rest kid. You are going to be fine." Hannibal informed him.
Amy came into the room with a big smile on her face. "That was my editor. He paged me to tell me that there is a huge story going in DC. Something about the A-Team being pardoned."
"What?" They all asked shocked.
"There was enough evidence from the scene of the crime, and what Joey and Angelo said to clear you guys. A couple of Abels stepped forward and spilled everything about Stockwell." Amy informed them. "Congratulations."
"Finally some good news." Face said and yawned.
"Get some sleep Face. We can celebrate when you get out of here." Hannibal said. Face nodded his head slowly and fell asleep.
***
A week later Face stretched out on the couch of Murdock's apartment. The others were staying at a hotel but it was decided Face would stay at Murdock's apartment. At this moment, he could hear Murdock and his girlfriend Erica in the kitchen joking around. He turned on the TV to the news. He sat up quickly when he saw the news report. He winced. "Murdock!" He called.
Murdock came rushing into the room. "What is it? Are you okay?" He asked. He stopped when he saw what was on the TV. "I wonder if Hannibal knows about this?"
Face didn't say anything. He kept watching the speech Ronald Reagan was giving. "The A-Team are going to be receiving pardons and our apologies for anything they went through."
The phone rang. Murdock answered it. "Yeah we are watching it too. Hold on. Who called you? How did he get your number? Well that makes sense. Tomorrow at 8:00 PM? Sounds good to me. I'll tell Face. Talk to you later." Murdock hung up. "Face you'll never guess who Hannibal talked to." Face just looked at him. "President Reagan! He invited all of us to the White House tomorrow night to hand us our pardons personally."
"You are kidding!" Face said and started to stand.
Murdock pushed him back down. "Whoa Face. You're supposed to be resting. Who knows if you'll even be able to attend the dinner. You just got out of the hospital two days ago."
"I have to go. I'll have BA carry me if it's necessary." Face said laying back down. Murdock laughed at the thought of BA carrying Face around the White House.
Face grinned too. "We'll figure something out." Murdock said. Face closed his eyes. "Dinner should be ready soon."
***
The next night Face looked at himself in the mirror. Hannibal had rented a tuxedo for him earlier that day. He was lucky that none of the scars were visible. The doctor had very reluctantly agreed to let Face attend the dinner but he wasn't to do more then sit and eat. "Yo Faceman! We gotta leave for the White House in a few minutes." BA's voice called from the living room.
"All right BA I'll be out in a second." Face called as he ran a comb through his hair once more.
He walked out of the bathroom to where his friends were. Ready to start a life of a free man.
Author: Dana
Rating: PG I think.
Warnings: Language, character hurt, blood, and character death.
Summary: The Team finds out who hired the three thugs to kill the Attorney General.
Author's note: This is an answer to what if Without Reservations happened after The Gray Team. This is also a sequel to Why is This Happening
Disclaimer: Not mine. They belong to Stephen J. Cannell.
Archive: Yes with comment card.
Getting Away
By Dana
Villa Cuchina was almost ready to close for the night when Amy Allen walked through the door. She looked around for Murdock and saw that he had his back to her as he cleared off a table. "Murdock!" She called.
Murdock spun around and his face lit up when he saw Amy. He ran over to her and hugged her. "Amy! What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Jakarta."
"I was hired by the New York Times three months ago. I was sent here to write a story about the attempted assassination of the Attorney General." Amy answered.
Murdock grimaced at the memory of Face being shot by thugs in this restaurant only three days before. "Yeah. I was working that night." He said sadly.
"I know you were. Murdock there's something you and the others need to know. Is there any way we can talk in private?" Amy asked.
"Let me finish working and we can go to my apartment. Sit at a table and I'll get you something to drink." Murdock said and hurried away to finish working.
Twenty minutes later Murdock unlocked the door to his apartment. He turned the lights on and pointed to the sofa. "Let's sit down." They did so. "I'm happy to see you Muchacha but how did you know I was in DC?"
"Like I said I'm doing a story on the shooting. Well two of the men agreed to talk for a shorter sentence. They said a man by the name of Stockwell paid them to assassinate the Attorney General."
"Oh no!" Murdock said. "He's the one who promised the others pardons! I knew there was something fishy about him."
"Murdock that's not all. One of them said they were also supposed to shoot a five foot ten blond hared man named Peck for a bonus. The guy said Stockwell told him that he'd be easy pickings."
"I've got to tell Hannibal." He said grabbing the telephone and dialed the van number.
'Yeah.' Hannibal's voice answered.
"Can you guys come to my apartment and bring Face?" Murdock asked.
'Murdock! Face is still in the hospital! We can't just go there and sign him out.'
"You've got to Hannibal this is an emergency! Stockwell was behind the whole attempted assassination of Liebster."
'What?!'
"You gotta get Face out somewhere safe. They were ordered to kill him too." Murdock answered.
'We'll be there as soon as we can.' Hannibal answered.
Murdock hung up the phone. "They're on the way." He said to Amy standing up and started pacing.
***
Hannibal and BA entered the hospital, leaving Frankie in the van, and ran to Face's room. They found him alone. "BA you bring Face. I'll go sign him out." Hannibal ordered.
Hanibal left the room and found the doctor standing outside the room. "You can't sign him out! He's too week to be moved."
"I'll sign whatever papers I have to. But Face is leaving." Hannibal said in determination.
Stockwell approached them. "Look Colonel. Lieutenant Peck is getting the best treatment available here. You'd be risking your man's life by moving him."
"We're out of here Stockwell. I know you don't care if Face lives or not since you're the reason he was shot." Hannibal looked up and saw BA standing there with Face in his arms.
"I don't know what you're talking about Colonel. I'm the one who got Peck in here without the military police being informed." Stockwell said faking surprise.
"You're all heart Stockwell but we know you were the one who put the hit on Liebster." Hannibal drew his gun. "I should shoot you right now. But I won't because that won't do Face any good. Let us leave or I might change my mind." He said in a deadly tone.
Stockwell stepped aside and allowed them to sign Face out and leave. After they went out the door, he turned to Abel 4 and Abel 8. "Go after them."
***
Face was laid in the back of the van confused. He could hear Hannibal on the phone talking to Murdock.
"Murdock meet us in front of your apartment building. We're five minutes away." Hannibal said hanging up.
"Johnny we are being followed." Frankie yelled from his spot next to the sliding door.
Hannibal leaned out his window and shot out the Abel car's wheels.
BA hit a bump in the road and quickly regretted it when he heard Face cry out. "Hang in there little brother."
Frankie opened the sliding door when they reached Murdock's apartment. Frankie was the first to notice Amy. "Hey who's that?" He asked watching Amy and Murdock run to the van.
"Hey guys." Amy said sitting down in the seat across from Frankie.
Face looked up. "Amy?" He asked.
Amy turned around. "Face." She said surprised by the way that he looked. She knew Face had been shot but it still shocked her. He looked very tired.
Hannibal turned his seat around to look at Amy. "Good to see you kid. I didn't know you were in the states."
"Been back for a couple months. I'm in DC on assignment."
"So what brings you to us? Does it have to do with Stockwell?" Hannibal asked.
Amy went on to explain how she found out the team was still alive and in Langley Virginia and that, Murdock worked for Villa Cuchina. They were stunned when she told them about what Joey and Angelo told the police.
"Stockwell! I knew we couldn't trust him Hannibal." Face said trying to sit up and gasped.
"Calm down Face. Here Amy give Face one of these." Hannibal said passing her a bottle of painkillers.
"So what's the plan Hannibal?" Murdock said from his spot next to Face.
"We get as far away as we can. Maybe head for Canada." Hannibal said.
"What about Maggie's?" Amy asked. "Wouldn't it be better for Face?"
"That'll be the first place he'll look Muchacha." Murdock informed her crawling past Face, who was almost asleep, and to the other seat.
"Hey guys anyone want to introduce me to this fine young woman?" Frankie asked. Without waiting for a response he stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Frankie Santana. And you are?"
"Amy Allen." Amy said while shaking his hand. She was almost repulsed by the smile on Frankie's face.
"Maybe you and I could go out for dinner sometime." Frankie said not letting go of her hand.
'He's worse then Face.' Amy thought as she got her hand loose. "No thank you."
"Cool it Frank." Hannibal said turning his chair back around. "BA find a small motel for the night. Tomorrow I want Murdock and Amy to get another car. We'll have to split up. Stockwell isn't going to let us go that easily."
***
"You lost them?" Stockwell asked the two Abel's standing in front of them.
"They blew out our tires General." Abel 4 informed him
"Well they couldn't have gotten far. They have an injured man. Search all motels that are around here." He ordered them. They quickly went to do so. "Carla when Abel 12 calls in put him through right away. He'll be able to tell us where they are."
***
The van stopped at a motel near Germantown Maryland. Hannibal went into to get three rooms for them. He came back five minutes later. "Okay BA and I will share one. Amy you get your own room. There will be a rollaway bed in the third for either Frankie or Murdock. Face gets a normal bed." He said while distributing the keys. "I suggest everyone get a good nights rest. We've got a long day ahead of us."
BA opened the back of the van and lifted Face who was still asleep. Murdock hurried in front of them to unlock the door.
"What about the van Johnny? Don't you think that'll be the first thing they'll look for?" Frankie asked as they followed the others.
"The owner said there's a place where we can stow it. I told him that there was something in the van that would be ruined if it was left in the cold." Hannibal said. He pulled out a cigar and lit it. He needed to come up with a plan fast.
***
Face woke up the next morning in confusion. He didn't know where he was. He saw that he was in a motel room somewhere. He snuggled down further in his sheets. He could faintly hear Frankie on the phone.
"Don't worry no one can here me. Peck's still asleep and Murdock went to get a new car. We're headed for Canada...Not sure where in Canada he didn't say...I'll call later."
Face sat up when he heard Frankie turn on the shower. 'What was going on? Whom was Frankie talking to?'
He picked up the telephone and dialed zero. "Hi. I was wondering if I could get the last number dialed from the room. I need to call the person back and somehow lost the number. Thanks." Face said writing down the number.
He jumped when he heard the water turned off. He pushed the number on the covers and laid back down wondering why the number sounded familiar.
Disclaimer: Stephen J. Cannell owns the A-Team. I claim everyone else.
Rating: PG I think. Warnings: This part has swearing and a tad bit of violence. You have been warned.
Author's note: This is an answer to what if Without Reservations happened after The Gray Team.
Summary: Frankie goes crazy.
Frankie came back into the room drying his hair with a towel he sat on his rollaway. He looked over at Face who hadn't gotten up yet. "Hey Face its almost 10:00." He said while putting his shoes and socks on. "Murdock should be back soon."
Face sat up and stared at Frankie for a second. "Hey who were you on the phone with earlier."
"My father. I was just checking on how he was doing." Frankie said.
Face got up slowly and started for the door leading to the hall. "Funny I thought it was Stockwell." Face said reaching for the door handle.
Frankie's grabbed Face's arm. Face turned around and saw the anger in Frankie's eyes. "Well, it wasn't."
"Okay I believe you." Face said walking past him to the bathroom. He closed the door and leaned against him. He just didn't have the strength right now to argue. 'Maybe I'm wrong. But I know I've seen the number before.'
Frankie looked over at the bed of Face and found a piece of paper sticking out from under the covers. He looked at it and groaned. It was the number he had just dialed. He was going to have to do something with Face because he obviously suspected something.
He started to go for the door when he heard the bathroom door open. He made sure the dead bolt was locked before looking for something to knock Face down with. He didn't think he'd need to kill him. Just knock him down and get out of there quickly. He found that part of the rollaway was broken and took the part off the bed and made sure it wasn't showing.
Face re-entered the room slowly. The shower helped lessen the pain but it was still there. "Hey Frankie I just wanted to apologize for accusing you of calling Stockwell. I know that I was wrong."
"Hey no problem Face. I'm sorry if I got angry. Guess I'm just tired of being accused of not being on your side." Frankie said almost forgetting the piece of metal.
"So when's Murdock do back?" Face asked turning to look out the window. He didn't even see the metal coming for his side. He fell to the floor holding his side with tears in his eyes.
Frankie started to go for the door when he saw through the peephole that Murdock was in the hall. "Shit." He quickly turned the dead bolt. He looked over and saw Face was still lying on the floor where he had fallen. He saw Murdock had stopped at Hannibal and BA's door so he still had a few minutes
He grabbed the telephone and called Stockwell. "Peck knows...Will do." He turned back around to face Face still with the piece of metal in his hand.
***
"Go tell Frankie and Face we are leaving in half an hour." Hannibal instructed Murdock.
Murdock nodded and headed down the hall to his room. He inserted the key in the door and tried to unlock it. The door wouldn't open. He started to knock on the door. "Frankie? Face? I think the dead bolt is locked. Anyone in there?"
He got no response. He tried to look in the window and saw Face still lying on his bed. He started to tap the window to get the attention of Face but it didn't work.
He started to get a bad feeling about this. He thought that maybe Face was still too weak. He went to get BA to employ his method of opening the door.
Frankie unlocked the door and started to run down the hall when he heard BA yell, "Frankie wait!"
Murdock rushed into his room to find Face still laying on the bed unconscious with a head wound. "Face?" He asked gently shaking him.
"Murdock?" A voice asked.
Murdock looked down and realized it wasn't Face. He turned around and saw Amy standing at the doorway.
"Hey Amy. See if you can find the first aid kit in the van." Murdock instructed.
"Sure Murdock." Amy said and left.
Murdock looked around the room and noticed a piece of metal on the floor. 'What's going on?' He wondered. He looked behind him when he heard the door open. He saw Frankie being pushed into the room by BA.
Hannibal followed them and glared at the young man. "Talk." He ordered after closing the door.
"About what?" Frankie said looking Hannibal straight in the eye.
"How about you start on why you were running down the hall." Hannibal said sitting down in a chair.
Amy came into the room with the first aid kit. Murdock quickly motioned her over to where he was. She did so and helped him bandage Face's head.
"I needed something to drink and knew I had to hurry because I knew Murdock and Amy would be back soon."
BA glared at Frankie and started to raise a fist at him. He knew that the guy was lying and wanted to know why. Hannibal held up a hand as a silent way of stopping BA from doing anything.
"Hannibal I found this next to Face's bed." Murdock spoke up holding up the piece of metal.
Hannibal took one look at BA and saw that he was ready to pounce on Frankie. "BA why don't you go get some ice for Face's head?"
"But Hannibal..." BA started to say.
"Now Sargent." Hannibal ordered. BA left the room slamming the door behind him.
Frankie was looking around nervously. He had to get of there quickly but he didn't have much of a chance.
"Did you hit Face with this?" Hannibal asked holding up the piece of metal.
Frankie didn't answer. Luckily for Frankie, Face's moaning distracted Hannibal.
Face started to sit up and felt dizzy. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes, which didn't help as things started spinning in front of him. He was feeling nauseous and he started to throw up when a basket was shoved in front of him. When he was done, he laid back down.
Frankie could barely hide a grin. If Face had a concussion, he might not remember what happened.
"Face?" Amy asked gently lifting Face's eyelids and saw that his pupils were enlarged. She watched as Face opened his eyes again. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.
Face stared at the fingers for a few seconds. Everything was still spinning. He saw two Amy's looking down at him. "Four." He answered.
"He's definitely concussed Hannibal." Amy informed him.
"The area where he had been shot looks red like he had been hit there too." Murdock informed him. "But I don't see any signs of broken ribs."
Hannibal stood staring at Frankie who was looking straight at him his expression never wavering. "Start talking Santana."
"Like I said I was going to get a soda. Maybe someone came in here when I was taking a shower. But I tell you Hannibal I didn't do this." Frankie answered.
"Face what is the last thing you remember." Murdock asked.
Face was silent for a few seconds as he tried to remember. "I was talking to Frankie. I don't remember what happened after that."
Hannibal stared at Face for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Frankie. "Looks like you got lucky Frank but that doesn't mean I trust you." BA came back into the room with ice. "BA I need you to carry Face down to the car. We are leaving. Amy could you go please check us out?" BA lifted Face up into his arms and Amy opened the door. They left the room.
"What about Frankie?" Murdock asked.
Hannibal took out a map. "We are taking him with us. I don't trust him enough to leave him here. Murdock you, Amy, and Face will go one way." He circled the route number making sure Frankie hadn't seen it. "BA, Frankie, and I will go another but we will all meet at the same place."
"Good luck keeping BA from killing Frankie." Murdock said looking the map over.
"Yeah well I don't know how much I can stop BA though." Hannibal said and looked up to see Frankie looking around nervously. 'Good he should be nervous. I am going to ring his neck after I ring Stockwell's.'
Amy came back into the room. "Okay Hannibal we're checked out. BA's waiting outside."
They filed out of the motel. Hannibal kept a firm grip on Frankie's shoulder. He shoved Frankie into the waiting van and closed the sliding door. "You have Face's phone?" He asked Murdock.
"Yeah. Good thing we saved it after his vette was ruined." Murdock said.
"Check in every hour." Hannibal said before getting into the van.
"Sure colonel. See you there." Murdock said and he and Amy got into the car. Both vehicles took off in two different directions.
***
An hour later Stockwell was looking over papers and trying to figure out where in Canada the team may have went. Frankie had been no help.
"General Stockwell?"
"Yes Carla?" He asked looking up from his papers.
"Abels 3, 6, 16, and 25 are here. They have brought her along."
"Let them in." He said as he started putting away the papers. He looked up as the Abels entered. "Ah Miss Bancroft glad you could join us."
"I didn't have much of a choice. Your men kidnapped me." Ellen said as she was forcefully pushed into a chair.
"I need the A-Team back here and you will be the one to bring them." Stockwell said as he picked up the telephone.
***
Hannibal picked up the phone that had been ringing in the van. "Yeah?"
'Colonel Smith this is General Stockwell.'
"What do you want?" He asked angrily. He mouthed Stockwell to BA who was looking at him curiously.
'I want you and your team to return to Washington. If you come back I will make sure Peck will get the medical treatment he needs and this whole incident will be forgotten.'
"No deal Stockwell. Not after what you tried to pull."
'Oh I think I might have something better to persuade you.' There was a pause before Hannibal heard Stockwell say, 'Tell him who you are.'
'Hannibal?' A tentative voice asked. 'It's Ellen.'
"Ellen?" Hannibal asked surprised. And grabbed onto the dashboard as BA swerved at hearing the name. BA pulled the van over.
Stockwell came back on. 'Ellen will be released when you and the others rejoin us.' The phone clicked.
"What was that about?" BA asked.
"Stockwell's got Ellen." Hannibal said and picked up the phone.
***
"So you see Amy there is a difference between Canadian water and our water." Murdock wrapped up a conversation about the difference between Canada and the US as he drove.
Amy could only shake her head. Nothing had changed with Murdock. He was still the same crazy pilot he was three years ago. "That is fascinating Murdock." She turned around and noticed that Face was still asleep.
Murdock saw her do this and offered a smile. "He'll be okay Muchacha. Don't worry. He'll probably sleep through most of the trip."
"Do you think Frankie did attack Face?" Amy asked. She didn't really trust Frankie and thought he was capable of doing that.
"I think so. Only he and Face know what happened and Face doesn't remember it." The phone ringing interrupted him.
Amy answered it. "Hello?"
'It's Hannibal. Put Murdock on.'
"Hannibal wants to talk to you Murdock." She said handing over the phone.
Murdock pulled the car over. "Howling Mad Murdock here."
'Murdock we've got a problem. Stockwell has Ellen."
Murdock glanced back quickly checking that Face was asleep. "So what's the plan?" He asked.
'We're going back to Washington.'
"Well we are closer to Washington then you are. We'll meet you at the house." Murdock said not liking this one bit.
'Okay.' The phone clicked as Hannibal hung up.
Amy looked over at Murdock questioningly as he pulled the car back onto the freeway. "What's going on?" She asked.
"We're going back to Washington. Stockwell has Face's sister."
"Wait. Face has a sister?"
"Half-sister named Ellen Bancroft. He found her a few months ago. Stockwell knows that will bring us back." Murdock said as he took the next exit and headed back to DC.
***
Forty-five minutes later, Stockwell entered the house in Langley with fifteen Abels. Ellen was quickly placed in Face's room and had two Abel's with her. A car pulled up in the driveway. He saw A woman he didn't recognize exit the car. He also saw Murdock behind the wheel. "They are here." He turned to the Abels. "Go greet them."
Murdock gently shook the shoulder of Face. "Come on Face. Wake up." He said.
Face opened his eyes and saw a blurry Murdock looking down at him. He was glad to see he was no longer seeing double. "Where are we?"
"Langley." Murdock said helping him sit up.
"Langley? How..." He started to ask and stop when he saw Abel 19 behind Murdock.
Murdock turned around. "We didn't need a welcoming party. We already know how to get to the front door." Abel 19 didn't say anything just motioned him out of the car with the gun. Abels 22 and 8 led Amy into the house. Abels 18 and 3 helped Face out of the car.
Face was feeling sick again. He had been jerked out of the car too fast and before he could stop himself, he threw up on Abel 18. He was shoved to the ground.
"Hey! The man's injured." Murdock protested breaking free from the other Abels. They allowed him to bend down and help Face back up slowly. "You okay now Face?"
"Yeah." Face said weakly. "I'm just sorry that wasn't Stockwell." He said quietly enough so no one but Murdock could hear him. Murdock chuckled.
"Glad you find this amusing Captain." Stockwell said from the doorway. He looked at Amy closer. "You must be Miss Allen. Frankie told me about you. You are the one who told the team about what I did. You'll be sorry for doing that." He turned to Abel 8. "Take her up to the room Miss Bancroft is in."
"Ellen?" Face asked in confusion as they entered the house.
"Oh they didn't tell you lieutenant? Your sister is here too." He looked Face over and noticed the bandage on his forehead. "You'll be taken back to the hospital as soon as Baracas and Smith are here." He looked at his watch. "I would have thought they'd be here by now."
Murdock and Face exchanged quick looks. They both had a feeling that Hannibal had a plan.
***
"So what's the plan Hannibal?" BA asked as the van pulled to a stop a block from the house.
Hannibal didn't answer him. He got out of the van and opened the sliding door. "Out Frank." He said. Frankie jumped out of the van. Hannibal got back into the van and instructed BA to drive. Frankie was left standing there in shock.
"What are you doing Hannibal? If Frankie does work for Stockwell..."
"I have a feeling that he does. We are just getting rid of excess garbage. Take a left on the next street." Hannibal instructed. "We need to know what we are up against."
"How are we going to do that?" BA asked.
"Just watch."
***
Face and Murdock, who were seated on the couch, watched as Stockwell paced the front room. "Maybe he got lost." Murdock suggested. "I get lost all the time."
"I'm sure you do Captain but that is not of the importance."
Frankie was ushered into the room by Abels 12 and 16. "They ordered me out of the van." He said.
Stockwell turned and looked at Face and Murdock. "Did you check them?" He asked Abel 8.
"Well no sir. I didn't think..." Abel 8 said. He stopped when he saw the look on Stockwell's face. He searched them and found a wire on Face.
Stockwell picked up the closest phone and called Hannibal. "Nice try Colonel." He said as soon as Hannibal had picked up.
'I didn't think you'd find it that soon.'
"Listen." Stockwell said and nodded to Abel 1. Abel 1 punched Face in the stomach the moan of pain was easily heard over the telephone. "Surrender or that will get worse." He said and hung up.
Murdock jumped to his feet and was about to attack Abel 1 when guns surrounded him.
The Abel's allowed Face to get back to his feet. He sat back down on the sofa and tried to hold back the tears. "If he's hurt any more I'll..." Murdock started to say.
"You'll what? Attack me? You'll both be shot in an instant." Stockwell said. Murdock just glared at him.
The door being kicked down interrupted them all. Standing there was BA. BA punched the Abels that were quickly approaching him. He knocked a couple out before he was overpowered. They tied his hands behind his back and was sat on the couch next to Murdock. He looked over on the other side of him and saw Face had a pained expression on his face. He silently cursed Stockwell.
"Where's Colonel Smith?" Stockwell asked BA. He got no answer. "I want to know where Smith is and I want to know now! He yelled and went to punch Face.
BA kicked him away with his left leg. "Don't touch him." He warned.
Stockwell signaled his men not to go after Baracas. "Now tell me Sargent. Where is the Colonel."
"Don't know."
Stockwell sighed and turned to Abels 23 and 20. "Take Peck to his room. And stay there. You know what I want you to do."
BA and Murdock exchanged looks. What was Stockwell up to? They wondered.
The two Abels dragged Face out of the room. He was thrown into his room. Amy and Ellen stood there watching. The door closed and was locked. Face sat on the floor watching wearily as a gun was taken out and the safety clicked off.
***
Outside of the house Hannibal stood leaning against the wall. He had been very lucky that no one had seen him yet. He started to slowly move around the house and stopped at the window of Face's room. He peered in and saw the gun being pointed at Face. The trigger was slowly going back. He dove through the window at Abel 20. Glass was flying everywhere. As he hit the ground he heard the gun go off. He looked around and saw Ellen and Amy was fine. He turned around and saw Face lying on the ground unmoving. Abel 23 stood there unsure what was going on.
Hannibal hit Abel 23 in the back of the head and then threw both the Abel's out the window after removing their guns and tying them up. Amy and Ellen hurried over to check on Face. "How is he?" He asked.
"He was again in the stomach." Ellen said.
Hannibal was angry with himself. He knew it was his fault Face had been shot. But he was lucky that they had only caught him in the stomach. "Either of you know how to fire a gun?"
They both nodded. "I took lessons after being kidnapped by Owen's men." Ellen said.
"I took some classes on the military base while I was in Jakarta." Amy said.
"Good." He said and passed them both some guns. "I am going to go out there. You two stay with Face and see if you can get the bleeding to stop. I'm going to let Stockwell know I'm here. If any of Stockwell's men come in here shoot them." They both nodded.
He opened the door a crack and looked out. The coast was clear. He crept out slowly and could hear Stockwell yelling at his men.
"Go find Smith." Stockwell said to the rest of the Abel's. Only three stayed with him. They were Frankie, Abel 1, and Abel 14.
Hannibal crept around the corner and saw that he had a clear shot and shot Abel 1. Murdock grabbed the gun that the Abel had dropped and pointed it at Stockwell. Murdock kept the gun pointed at Stockwell and Frankie as Hannibal untied BA.
"There's something I want to know from you before I shoot you now Stockwell. Why did you have Face shot?" Hannibal asked as he training his gun at Stockwell.
"I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out Colonel. It's quite simple. You walked right into a different set up so I changed the plan. They were told to shoot and kill Peck and Liebster."
"Why Face?" Murdock asked. "I was there also."
"If they shot you and you died no one would take notice. To them a waiter was killed during a hit. However, if an A-Team member were shot everyone would take notice. Everyone would know the A-Team weren't killed by a firing squad."
"You're crazier then Murdock. And now you're going to pay sucka." BA said. If he had a gun, he would have shot Stockwell right there and then.
Stockwell looked at all of them nervously. They wouldn't hesitate to shoot him.
"You tried to kill Face twice Stockwell. Why?" Hannibal asked.
Stockwell smirked. "Ah you want the real reason. Well that's not as easy for you figure out I would suspect. But he knew too much. I was lucky you never paid attention to his complaints. Frankie reported to me that he was starting to question what was going on and was about to leave. Well I couldn't let that happen. Then he started to suspect Frankie. If he had gone to you about his suspicions, everything would be ruined."
"But the second time?" Hannibal asked.
"Did you actually think you were all going to leave here alive Colonel? He was already injured. It was more like putting him out of his misery."
BA punched Stockwell in the jaw. That's when all hell broke loose. Abels started to run into the room. Frankie pulled out a gun and aimed it at Hannibal.
Murdock took out his own gun and shot Frankie.
Frankie fell to the ground dead. Murdock didn't like having to kill people but Frankie didn't leave him much of a choice.
The Abels seemed to stop in their tracks as Frankie fell to the ground.
***
(This scene takes place at just about the same time as the scene before it)
In Face's room, Amy and Ellen were struggling to stop Face's bleeding. Face started to come to and was struggling to sit up. "I'm okay." Face's voice barely a whisper.
There was a loud bang as a gun went off. Ellen and Amy were so surprised that they couldn't stop Face from getting up. He collapsed to his knees. This was not his day. He had a concussion, bruised ribs, and now another gunshot wound to his stomach. 'How did I get to be so lucky?' He wondered as he struggled to his feet again. "Ellen give me your gun." He ordered his sister.
"Face you are in no shape to go out there." Amy said.
"Look I've got to help them. One of them might have been shot. Ellen give me the gun. I can still aim a gun even with a concussion."
"What if you hit the wrong man Face?" Ellen asked.
"Trust me Ellen on this." He said. Ellen reluctantly handed him her gun. He allowed them to help him out of the room.
***
Stockwell was furious. Frankie was his second in command. He lifted his gun to point it at Murdock. He pulled back the trigger at the same time Face entered the room.
Face pointed his gun at Stockwell and pulled back his trigger. Stockwell didn't see him.
A gun went off but it wasn't Stockwell's or Face's. As Face fell to the ground, he looked around for the man who nearly shot him. His eyes fell onto Hannibal who still had his gun pointed at him. "No." Face said in disbelief.
Stockwell turned and grinned at him. "You trusted the wrong person Lieutenant."
Face looked at the others in the room. Murdock stood there with a shocked look on his face. He brought up his gun and shot Stockwell between the eyes. Hannibal stood over Face with his gun pointed at him. "No!" He yelled. The pain caused him to black out.
***
"Face?" A voice was calling his name.
Face opened his eyes and realized he was in the back of a van. Murdock was looking down at him in concern. "Hannibal..."
"Yeah kid?" Hannibal asked turning his seat around to face the back of the van.
"But I thought...the gun..." Face didn't want to finish the sentence.
"Face I wasn't trying to shoot you. I was trying to distract Stockwell. You couldn't have aimed a gun well enough to shoot Stockwell in your condition." Hannibal explained. "I was about to put my gun back in its holster when you blacked out."
"We're here." BA said as he pulled up to the entrance of DC General. He parked the car.
Hannibal jumped out and opened the sliding door for the van. BA came around and lifted Face from the back of the van. He carried Face in and started yelling for a doctor.
A doctor met them. Murdock almost laughed when he saw it was Dr. Green. The same doctor who had treated Face two days ago after he was shot.
Dr. Green stopped in his tracks. He quickly regained his composure. "Same gunshot wound or a new one?"
"New one. He was shot about thirty minutes ago." Hannibal said as he came up behind BA.
"Okay. Swenson take him to exam room two. I'll be in there in a second." He instructed an orderly. "You want to tell me what's going on?"
"He was shot in the stomach again. He also has a concussion and some bruised ribs." Hannibal said.
The doctor shook his head. "I suppose you aren't going to tell me what happened are you?"
"No sorry doc. Just take care of Face please."
He nodded and walked down the hall. BA, Hannibal, and Murdock took seats in the waiting room. A half-hour later Amy and Ellen joined them.
"We've told the police about as much as we could." Amy informed them. "They are going to be looking around the house for the rest of the day."
"How's Face." Ellen asked.
"The doctor hasn't come back out yet. Luckily for us it was the same one that treated Face a couple days ago." Murdock said.
The doctor came out fifteen minutes later. "He'll be all right." He informed them. "He lost a lot of blood. I'd like to keep him here three days a week tops. I would still like to know how he ended up in t his position."
"It's a long story. I'd rather not go into it." Hannibal informed him. "Can we see Face?"
Amy's pager interrupted them all. She hurried off to make a phone call.
"I don't see why not." Dr. Green said. "He's being moved to room 329."
Everyone, except Amy and Dr. Green, took the elevator to room 329 and entered. Face was sleeping. There was an IV bag filled with blood attached to one of his arms.
They stood around his bed and watched as Face's eyes fluttered open. "Hey." He whispered.
"Rest kid. You are going to be fine." Hannibal informed him.
Amy came into the room with a big smile on her face. "That was my editor. He paged me to tell me that there is a huge story going in DC. Something about the A-Team being pardoned."
"What?" They all asked shocked.
"There was enough evidence from the scene of the crime, and what Joey and Angelo said to clear you guys. A couple of Abels stepped forward and spilled everything about Stockwell." Amy informed them. "Congratulations."
"Finally some good news." Face said and yawned.
"Get some sleep Face. We can celebrate when you get out of here." Hannibal said. Face nodded his head slowly and fell asleep.
***
A week later Face stretched out on the couch of Murdock's apartment. The others were staying at a hotel but it was decided Face would stay at Murdock's apartment. At this moment, he could hear Murdock and his girlfriend Erica in the kitchen joking around. He turned on the TV to the news. He sat up quickly when he saw the news report. He winced. "Murdock!" He called.
Murdock came rushing into the room. "What is it? Are you okay?" He asked. He stopped when he saw what was on the TV. "I wonder if Hannibal knows about this?"
Face didn't say anything. He kept watching the speech Ronald Reagan was giving. "The A-Team are going to be receiving pardons and our apologies for anything they went through."
The phone rang. Murdock answered it. "Yeah we are watching it too. Hold on. Who called you? How did he get your number? Well that makes sense. Tomorrow at 8:00 PM? Sounds good to me. I'll tell Face. Talk to you later." Murdock hung up. "Face you'll never guess who Hannibal talked to." Face just looked at him. "President Reagan! He invited all of us to the White House tomorrow night to hand us our pardons personally."
"You are kidding!" Face said and started to stand.
Murdock pushed him back down. "Whoa Face. You're supposed to be resting. Who knows if you'll even be able to attend the dinner. You just got out of the hospital two days ago."
"I have to go. I'll have BA carry me if it's necessary." Face said laying back down. Murdock laughed at the thought of BA carrying Face around the White House.
Face grinned too. "We'll figure something out." Murdock said. Face closed his eyes. "Dinner should be ready soon."
***
The next night Face looked at himself in the mirror. Hannibal had rented a tuxedo for him earlier that day. He was lucky that none of the scars were visible. The doctor had very reluctantly agreed to let Face attend the dinner but he wasn't to do more then sit and eat. "Yo Faceman! We gotta leave for the White House in a few minutes." BA's voice called from the living room.
"All right BA I'll be out in a second." Face called as he ran a comb through his hair once more.
He walked out of the bathroom to where his friends were. Ready to start a life of a free man.