I thought I'd try out writing an A-Team fic because.. Well, it's freaking AMAZING.. Is it not?
SPOILER ALERT: This is set in the movie where the Team have captured General Morrison. I was quite fascinated to see how Murdock was the only one sporting a really bad injury from the explosion and it saddened me that we didn't find out why, so I wrote a little one-shot on what I thought happened.
This fic is non-slash!
Disclaimer: I do not own the A-Team or any characters etc, etc. (But I can dream, right?)
Hannibal cocked his gun and aimed the barrel at Morrison's head, his hand shaking ever so slightly.
"I saw your tomb at Arrington. You died a national hero." He ground out, his teeth clenched, at his once close-friend
The older man looked to the floor and shame flashed in his eyes before he looked up. He turned his head, so the barrel was pressing to the centre of her forehead.
Hannibal and the supposedly deceased General made eye contact, the seconds ticking by. Suddenly Hannibal removed the gun, his eyes showing the loathing of the man in front of him.
"Death's too easy.." He said to himself, loud enough for Morrison to hear. "And the last thing we need now is another lie."
"Don't do this, Hannibal, please. You owe me that much." The fear was evident in Morrison's voice, more willing to accept death than to be imprisoned.
Taken aback by this, the Colonel narrowed his eyes and leant closer to him, "You owe me!" He was losing his temper, but he didn't care. This was the man who sent them to prison, who they trusted, who betrayed them.
Morrison lifted his head at the usually calm man's outburst.
"You're going to tell them we're innocent. For me." Hannibal turned to leave, he couldn't face that man right now. His team needed him, they were as shocked by the revelation as him and he was not letting them step foot in the warehouse where that traitor was tied.
"Hannibal, it's meaningless!" Morrison called to the retreating man, "What are you fighting for now, you and those boys? Your ranks, your reputations? They're shit!"
The colonel could still hear the shouts as he stepped to the docks, Face looked up to him as he walked past and turned his gaze to the water. Murdock turned slightly,
"You're convicts! Plates, no plates! You are federal fugitives..!"
The pilot lowered his head, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, this was the man they worked with, their friend. And now it turns out he was working against them, being blamed for something they never did and thinking he was dead.
B.A. sat on a pile of tires, staring at the wooden floor of the dock. He'd started to drown out Morrison's endless shouting when the man started throwing insults. They were better than him, they didn't need shit like that thrown at them, especially from a scumbag traitor like him, he thought.
They were all silent, even Morrison seemed to give up after a few minutes, knowing it was pointless.
Suddenly, Face spoke up "Boss, could you do that?"
Hannibal turned to face him.
"To us.. What Morrison did."
"No." Came the answer, "I'd rather face a firing squad than betray you boys." He said sincerely, looking to each of his team members. His family. His eyes landed on Murdock, who was looking at him with eyes you'd see on a lost child.
Face shook his head ever-so-slightly, "Yeah, but you never saw it coming."
The Colonel turned his gaze back to Face, "No. I-" he stopped, as if pondering something. "I didn't see it coming," his voice barely above a whisper.
He heard the faint sound of an engine and quickly spun to face the water, there was a shape in the sky headed towards them. It got louder, drawing the attention of the rest of the team. B.A stood up and squinted his eyes to try and make out the shape.
Hannibal turned, eyes wide, "MOVE!" he commanded, and they started to run from the docks, "Hurry Murdock! Get from the warehouse!" He called to the small pilot who was tailing them. He knew what was going to happen, Lynch was going to destroy the evidence. The evidence being Morrison and them, just to make it easier for CIA to get their hands on the plates.
The jet flew overhead, Murdock squinted slightly as the sound hurt his ears, it was so close to the ground. And so close to him.
Face turned to see how far along his team mates were. His stomach dropped as his search landed on Murdock who was too far behind them. The jet started shooting at the warehouse, igniting barrels of fuel and his eyes widened.
"Murdock!"
"Get cover!" Hannibal cried, but his voice was lost in the explosion. The blast wave powerful enough to shoot him off his feet, and land unceremoniously on his back a few feet away.
B.A had luckily jumped down when he heard the jet firing, yanking Face down with him, who he was using as support.
Murdock, being so close to the explosion was not as fortunate. The pilot was thrown forward, hitting his head on the side of the wooden docks making his vision blur. He tried reaching for something to pull himself up with but leant too far off the edge, falling into the water.
The shock alone from hitting the water made Murdock gasp out, water filling his lungs immediately, before his previous injury overcame him and he knew no more.
Large chunks of wood was sent flying around the docks, some barely missing Face and B.A.
Once the debris had settled, Hannibal slowly pushed himself up, wincing as his back protested. He searched the area, his eyes finally landing on the Lieutenant stumbling to help the already wounded Bosco. He frantically started searching the rest of the wreckage site with his eyes.
Face turned to see his boss. He looked around himself before looking back at Hannibal. They made eye contact for a brief second, the worry evident in both their eyes.
"Where's that crazy fool?" B.A mumbled, getting to his feet.
"Can you see him?" Face called.
Hannibal was about to call back, when something caught his eye. There was something red floating upon the water, standing out upon the dark-blue. He could recognize that hat anywhere.
"The water! Face get over here!" He ran to the edge of the docks.
Face immediately sprinted to catch up with the Colonel, who was looking into the waters frantically. The younger man wasted no time in diving in, and boy was it cold!
He swam down towards the seafloor, looking around frantically.
How long has he been under here? He thought to himself, he was running out of time. Or his time could already be up. But Face pushed that thought away he had to concentrate.
It was incredibly hard to see through the water, only a few feet around, but he decided it was best to go downwards. Seconds ticked by as he swam, he knew this water wasn't too deep so he kept pushing.
He was rewarded when he made out a shape, the white colour standing out the most. He realised it was Murdock's converse. He reached out for it, and thanked the stars when he realised Murdock was still wearing it. He pulled the pilot closer to him, noticing the blue tinge to his lips and tried not to panic. He kicked furiously against the water, the extra weight making it harder to move but he was getting somewhere. Luckily Murdock had a small frame and was quite thin. Probably being underfed in the VA, Face thought darkly.
He finally reached the surface and immediately gasped for breath, Murdock's head hung forward limply.
"He's not breathing!" Face managed to shout. Hannibal leant forward, grabbing Murdock's jacket and pulled him from the water with help from B.A.
Face grabbed on to the wood and pulled himself up, shivering from the cold air on his skin.
Hannibal quickly checked for a pulse, he started to panic when he couldn't trace one.
B.A quickly knelt down beside the pilot, he winced involuntarily at the sight of his blood-covered forehead and bruised cheek.
The Colonel let out a breath he did know he was holding when he felt a slow, but weak, pulse on the younger man.
"We need to get this water out. Now." He looked to Face, who was knelt beside him, looking down at the pale figure of his best friend.
Face nodded and started pushing down onto Murdock's chest forcefully, while Hannibal shifted around to his head and started giving Murdock the air he so desperately needed.
Moments went by with no results, Face was starting to chant 'Breath, come on, work!" Repeatedly under his breathe.
B.A looked on helplessly at the pale figure of Murdock, That crazy fool's not gonna' die on my watch! the thought.
"Let me try." The voice of B.A broke through Face's concentration and he looked up.
The Sergeant shuffled closer before slamming his hands onto Murdock's chest, not enough to break a bone but there would surely be a bruise when this was over. Face winced at the thought.
They tried a second time, B.A using a little more force and Hannibal breathed again. Before the bigger man could bruise the pilot more, Murdock's eyes flew open and he tried to take a breathe only to choke out the water which had been in his lungs.
Face quickly sat him up, supporting his back. "Woah easy!" He said.
Murdock had quickly closed his eyes tightly against the bright light and took a few ragged gulps of air.
"How are you Captain?" Hannbial asked looking worriedly at Murdock.
The younger man opened his eyes slightly at the familiar voice, his eyesight still blurred around the edges but he made out the face of Hannibal.
"H-hey bossman." Murdock grinned, "Bugs Bunny told me.. You've left the water running."
Face stared at his friend, who's breathing was becoming less strained, and his face broke into a huge smile despite their situation.
B.A, however, was not as amused. "The crazy fool almost dies and he starts jabbering about cartoons!" He shook his head and sat back, but relief was evident on his face knowing that Murdock was okay.
Rain started falling from the sky.
"Come on, we've got to get out of here before Lynch's men arrive." Hannibal grabbed the pilot's upper arm and hauled him to his feet, with help from Face. Murdock swayed slightly and would have fallen if it weren't for Hannibal supporting him. Face had gone to help Bosco up.
"Do you think the plates survived?" The Lieutenant questioned, steadying B.A
"They'd have been in a nearly indestructible case. They're still in the car, right?" His boss asked.
Face and B.A nodded.
"Come on, this isn't over yet." Hannibal looked to each of them with a determined look in his eyes. One which they all mirrored.
The team started making their way towards their stolen car, Murdock had been able to steady his footing enough and decided he was able to walk on his own.
He looked around the wreckage seemingly forgetting that it was once the warehouse they'd been taking refuge in.
He stumbled closer to B.A. who put an arm around him. B.A wanted to make it look as though he needed the support but secretly gripped Murdock's jacket to keep the Pilot upright if he were to stumble.
"Keep close to the fires boys, if that gunship is still around atleast it won't read our body heat."
They made it to the, once, expensive-looking car. All the glass was shattered and the doors were hanging off or completely blown elsewhere.
Murdock pulled from B.A and he reluctantly let go, stepping forward quickly as Murdock stumbled. The bigger man held Murdock's upper arm to let the pilot right himself.
"That idiot Lynch, so quick to kill us.. Didn't even bother locating the plates." Face managed a small laugh, but it was clearly forced.
B.A kicked the trunk of the car, removing a piece of protruding metal. He reached in to retrieve the case.
Murdock stood where he was, his gaze roaming the wreckage again he almost felt his legs give way beneath him but was able to right himself in time. He was concentrating so much on standing upright he missed part of what Hannibal was yelling about right next to him.
"-Are you pissed? Because you should be!"
He looked to what B.A was holding. The plates. He hated those plates, so much trouble for some stupid chunks of metal. Money can't buy happiness he remembered telling Bosco.
"Who gives a shit about the plates? Morrison was the only way to clear us." he finally said aloud. He pointed to the destroyed warehouse where Morrison had been tied for emphasis. Even though his voice had been steady, his eyes betrayed his true fear of being taken from his team again. "Without Morrison.. We got nothin'.." He finished and Hannibal nodded.
He turned to face the Colonel, "What do we do boss?"
"I don't know Murdock." He replies, seemingly irritated. Not at his team, but at himself. How he could allow them to be betrayed twice was starting to give him doubts, and he didn't like to think of putting his team in danger when he's feeling doubtful. "I don't know." He repeats.
"But I do." Face closes his eyes as rain continues to pour down his face. "This guy Lynch, I think I got him figured out." He wipes some water from his eyes.
"You got a plan, kid?" Hannibal asks impatiently.
"How do we get out of here?" Murdock asks, his voice small like a child.
The con-artist swings a bag over his shoulders, "Just give me twenty minutes." he grins confidently.
*Plays the rest of the movie* Because this wasn't far from the end. I hope you enjoyed it!
