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"There you go, Sister." Hannibal handed the nun a cup of tea.
"Thank you, Colonel Smith. Templeton told me a lot about the three of you and I'm glad that what he told me was true."
"What'd he say, Sister Mary?" Murdock leaned on his knees, wondering what Face had told the Sisters from the orphanage about the team.
Sister Mary laughed, thinking back to the letters that Templeton had sent her. "He wrote to us, telling us about you and, although he may not have stated as such, we could all tell that he trusted the three of you a lot." The three nodded at that. Face didn't let people in, easily, but somehow the three of them had managed to get through to him. But that didn't mean they knew him as well as people might think. "It warmed our hearts to know Templeton had found such good friends. Especially, Father Maghil." Sister Mary could remember that, when they had found the little boy on the steps of the orphanage, the good Father had been able to coax the child out of his shell. They had been close.
"I'm sure Face would like to see you Sister but is there any reason why you're here." Hannibal watched as the Sisters face took on a sad look.
"You okay, Sister." BA asked. He had also seen the look that passed through Sister Marys face.
"Yes. There is Colonel. I'm not surprised that Templeton has not told you, he has always been secretive, especially with his emotions. In truth, I am worried for him. All of us who know Templeton in the orphanage are worried." The three men sat in silence, waiting for the Sister to continue. "Father Maghil passed onto the next world just last night."
The team sat in silence for a minute. They hadn't known the priest well but they all knew that Face cared about the old priest a lot. Father Maghil had, practically, raised Face from a kid.
Hannibal knew Face would be trying to block his emotions and knew that eventually they would all boil over and they would be too much for Face. He was always telling the kid to let his emotions out more but that wasn't Face. No, Face just bottled them up.
BA was worried about Faceman. Probably Face was trying to block the grief out and he'd run off to do that. That was never a good thing when it came to Face. Sucka needed to let it out and to do that he needed to be forced into it.
Murdock sat quietly, his brain whirring. He knew they had to find Facey. Facey was his best friend and he was hurting and Murdock didn't like to see his friends hurting. Murdock knew Face needed them, even if Facey might not know it. Problem was Facey was missing.
"Don't worry, Sister. We'll help 'im." BA gruffly said. The Sister nodded her thanks.
"Do you know where he might have gone?" Hannibal asked, just before he opened the door for the Sister to leave.
"Yes. He'll be in the park. By the pond. He always went there to think when he was younger." Sister Mary said, before making her way out of the apartment.
LINE BREAK
Pitch blackness was pierced only by the street lamps nearly 30 yards away from where Face sat. The stars where glistening in the dark night sky. Ripples broke the ponds surface as Face threw stones.
When he was a kid, he remembered coming here to think. Father Maghil had always found him sitting in this same position, doing the same thing. But he never interfered. No. He just sat there, waiting for Face to talk, not pushing him but waiting. Sometimes Face talked and sometimes he didn't. Either way when the pair headed back to the orphanage, Face felt better.
He would never have that again. Father Maghil would never sit next to him, saying a comforting word or sit with him in companionable silence. The team were great but they weren't good for what he needed to help with his emotions.
Hannibal pushed and pushed until Face broke. He remembered after the POW camps. He hadn't wanted to talk about it. Had bottled the emotions up until Hannibal had pushed him. Pushed him until he exploded. Not that Face wasn't grateful, it's just didn't enjoy it. Didn't enjoy the feeling of all of those emotions coming out at one time.
A tear came to his eyes but he pushed it back. BA was nearly as bad, Face considered. The big man wasn't compassionate, unless he was with kids or his Mama. No. Face knew BA cared but the big man preferred to ignore the emotional states. He would mention it to one of the other team members but he wouldn't get directly involved.
Then there was Murdock. Face's crazy best friend. He could make even the most desperate situation better, just by being Murdock. Face remembered when the crazy pilot had invented Billy, in the POW camps. The dog had made all of them smile. Had gotten them through the tough times. But a smile wasn't going to fix this. Not. These emotions ran to deep for that.
Grief was running through Face, along with a thousand other emotions that he had kept bottled up over the years. A choked sob appeared but he pushed it back again. No crying. Bottle them up again. Concentrate.
It was just a con. A con that Face used on himself time and time again. Con himself into thinking he didn't care. If he could convince himself of that then nothing could touch him. No emotion could get through to him. But this emotion did.
Father Maghil had been the closest thing Face had ever had to family. To a Father. The team came pretty close to but he had known the Father for so much longer. He had been there when he'd been abandoned by his parents. Father Maghil had been there when he had been sick or hurting. Had watched him grow into the overconfident teen that he had been. Never judged his decisions. Never been angry like the Sisters or perspective parents had been with Face's lying and conning. Had stood by Face when he had told him that he was going to join the army. Father Maghil had been the one to give Face a name. Had taken him in and named him. Given him an identity. And Face missed him. God help him, he missed Father Maghil.
So he let the tears fall. He let them fall in this beautiful and private place. Face cried for what he had lost. And he remembered. He remembered his childhood memories. He remembered the Father as he had been. Been in life as he was not in death.
A car horn made Face stop. Realisation hit the conman in a second. What was he doing? He couldn't let his emotions consume him. They already had a hold of him though. A tight hold that would not let him escape its grasp. Staggering to his feet, Face tried to bottle the emotions up. Tried to stop them. But he couldn't.
He fell to his feet, tears still appearing. Face couldn't remember the last time he'd cried so much. Silent tears. No noise. That was how he had always cried. Shuddering with the effort to control his emotions, Faces' world started to spin.
Face hadn't eaten since he had gotten the call late last night, to consumed with thoughts and emotions. The emotions had started to effect Face. This was why he didn't let them come through. He bottled them up so he wouldn't have to feel their effect.
When he tried to stand though, black spots appeared in his vision. Everything was coming at him at once. Face couldn't handle the emotions. The memories. There was too much. He couldn't bottle the emotions back up. Couldn't put them in the tightly locked box in the back of his mind.
The black spots where gathering in the corners of his vision. He was so tired. So Face let blackness consume him. Better that than let the emotions consume him.