Part II
The camera in his cell was concealed, so Murdock had no idea that he was being watched, let alone that B.A. and Hannibal were being 'treated' to the show. If he'd known, he might have refrained from speaking to spare them.
"Oh man – Face? Hannibal! B.A.! Where are you guys?"
It was obvious that the variety of sounds coming from Face were rapidly winding Murdock up to a state of high anxiety. Practically fleeing to a corner, Murdock faced it, put up his right arm against it at head level, then pressed his forehead against that arm, closing his eyes as he started hitting his closed left fist against the wall rhythmically.
B.A. was growling to himself and even the usually unflappable Hannibal was on his feet, pacing. If only they'd bought Face here, then he could be - no. No, this was obviously the reason for the monitor. To make him have to witness what was being done to his men without being able to offer even so much as a word of encouragement. There had to be a way to reach them. He just had to find it.
Watching Hannibal pace was as bad as watching the monitor, but B.A.'s eyes kept glancing back despite himself. He was hoping Face was just trying to scam their captors, but that was a slender hope. Then a movement from Murdock caught his attention.
"Hannibal - somethin's happening."
B.A. had been looking at the screen when Murdock had suddenly stopped pounding the wall and drew a deep, shuddering breath. The Captain turned away from the corner quickly, his whole body slightly rigid with determination. But despite his body language, even over the monitor, the fear was obvious in his eyes.
"Face? Faceman - It's me. You know? Murdock? Hey buddy, you're stealing my material here. I'm the team crazy. Come on, Temp. Talk to me."
Suddenly jerking his head up like a marionette that someone pulled the string on, Face met Murdock's eyes. But from the wild expression Face was wearing, the pilot wasn't at all sure his teammate was really seeing him.
"Mu - murdock?"
"The one, the only, the original. Accept no imitations, buddy. Talk to me. Tell me what's happening to you, Face."
"I... hear things. And the walls won't stop moving. I'm going crazy, Murdock. I can't think straight."
Murdock spoke softly, like he would to a child he was trying to coax to sleep.
"You aren't going crazy, Face. I'm the crazy expert around here and you aren't ready for the club. It's just the drugs inside of you, buddy. There's nothing wrong with you."
Without any warning, Face went from sobbing to screaming at Murdock. It was angry, accusing sound - as if he had decided the Captain was at least part of the reason behind his pain.
"Nothing wrong? Everything is wrong! Even my skin! They put the wrong skin on me and it's too tight!"
Hannibal winced as Face began trying to dig his nails into his own skin. Murdock ran over toward him, yelling.
"No, Face! No -"
Face flailed out and caught Murdock hard, contacting with the Captain's nose. There was a sickening sound that B.A. knew probably meant a broken nose. Blood flowing freely down and already dripping from his chin, Murdock reeled for a moment before collapsing to the cell's floor as Face wailed like a banshee.