After the men arrived in the parking lot, standing outside of the main hospital doors was a white-coated doctor and several hulking orderlies with one carrying a straight jacket. Apparently, this doctor had dealings with suicidal Vietnam veterans before and was not about to take any chances with the legendary Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith since the man was well-known as an escape artist.
As Roderick Decker took hold of Hannibal's arm and started leading him towards the entrance of the hospital, Hannibal whispered to Decker. "Looks like that doc isn't taking any chances with me, Decker. Those orderlies look like they should be playing tackle for the Raiders."
Decker glanced over at the men, "Yeah they do, Smith. But we couldn't tell the doctor this is a ruse since we don't know who might be working for Colonel Hamilton or he might have a leak in his office."
"Yeah, I know Decker. But I don't like it." Hannibal stated.
"Neither would I, Smith, but this is YOUR plan. Remember?" Decker reminded him with a chuckle under his breath at Smith's discomfort.
Hannibal smirked at Decker, "Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it and I'm not fond of being put in a straight jacket, either. That will make me a sitting duck." And this brought a big grin to Decker's face at the thought of his nemesis in a straight jacket and fact Smith didn't like his own plan, and that was a new one for Roderick Decker.
Before they arrived at the entrance, Hannibal noticed two other men in Army dress uniforms walking towards them and once they got close enough, he recognized them, so he elbowed Decker to get his attention, "Look who's coming our way, Rod?"
"Yeah, I noticed Parker and Bradley. They probably heard you're here and are coming to see you, John. I guess thinking maybe they can help out in some way."
"Probably, but I wonder how they heard about it so quick," Hannibal said. "Decker, who did you tell that we were coming in."
"Just the doctor. Why?" Decker replied to Hannibal.
"Because that head doctor wouldn't have called them because he doesn't know we're friends, so someone else did," Hannibal said thinking for a couple of seconds ahead of Decker. "You know Rod, that puts all four of us all together in the same location at the same time and it gives Hamilton a perfect opportunity to take all four of us out at same time," Hannibal stated as his head went on a swivel.
Decker glared at Smith, realizing quickly he was right, so he followed Hannibal's lead and started looking around. Upon seeing nothing in sight, but with his senses on alert, Decker glanced over at Crane. "Hand me your weapon, Captain and back way off. Go get that doctor and his men safely into the building."
"Sir?" Crane questioned.
"You heard me, Captain. Move it." Decker ordered.
"Yes sir," Crane said as he headed his pistol to his CO and hurried off towards the building.
After watching his aide leave, Decker faced Smith as he stuck the pistol in his belt with one hand while fumbling with the cuff keys in the other. Once Decker had a good grasp of the key, he released the cuffs Smith was wearing. "I don't want him, or anyone else hurt because of this guy. Just like you didn't want your men involved, I don't want mine. How do you think he will try to get us, John?"
"It would have to look like some kind an accident, Rod, if he tries to take us all out at once," Hannibal said as he re-closed the rings around his wrists, but left it loose enough to get his hand out should something happen. Seeing what Smith was doing, Decker stopped him for a moment and tucked the pistol underneath Hannibal's denim jacket in the back of his pants. And this surprised Hannibal because Decker just handed him a loaded gun on an army base.
"I hope your MP's don't get the wrong impression about that pistol, Decker."
"I'll make sure they don't shoot you, Smith. Just don't pull it out unless you need to."
"Oh, you can be sure of that, since I'm supposed to be suicidal, remember. The MP's around here would shoot first and ask questions later. I was suicidal years ago at Bragg; I admit that, but I am sure not now, and the last thing I want to get shot again. It hurts, and Maggie wouldn't let me live it down. She says I'm already a bullet magnet.
Decker turned around to face him after hearing the statement, wondering exactly what Smith meant by it, but before he could ask the question, their two friends headed in their direction, thinking Decker was having a hard time ushering Hannibal into the hospital.
Once Hannibal noticed the change of direction of the two generals, he spotted a large 2-ton six-wheeled truck barreling towards the location of the four men. Already being on the JAZZ with the adrenaline pumping into his system, Hannibal moved quicker than Decker and shoved him out of the way before gang tackled the two generals off the side of the roadway, just avoiding getting run over by the truck. Due to his momentum, Hannibal hit the ground hard on his shoulder and then his head as he rolled over the top of the two men. As the truck rushed by him, Hannibal noticed the man behind the wheel was the crazy former Colonel.
Being physically quicker than Decker, Hannibal got up and took off after the truck as it picked up speed while shaking off the pain as he ran after the lumbering truck and Colonel Hamilton. Being focused on a single task, catching the vehicle, Hannibal didn't notice if Decker was behind him or not. So once, he caught up Hannibal grabbed hold of the tailgate to pull himself up into the bed, and as his feet left the ground, he felt the truck accelerating as his feet skipped over the pavement. The exertion of the climb brought a tremendous amount of pain as his bruised shoulder and ribs complained about the stress put on them by the truck's acceleration. As the truck kept going faster, Hannibal didn't know if Hamilton knew he was in the truck bed or was just trying to get away after not succeeding in his attempt to run over the four men down. And with a slow army vehicle, the man was currently driving; it wouldn't be long before the police and the army caught to the truck since it stood out as a military vehicle.
After several tries, Hannibal finally got his right leg hooked over the tailgate of the truck and pulled himself up. Once inside under the cover, Hannibal rubbed his aching left shoulder for a second before checking his waistband for the pistol Decker had given him earlier. Once the gun was tucked tightly inside the inside of his waistband, Hannibal climbed out on the passenger side of the truck and inched his way towards the cab while holding onto the cover supports to maintain his precarious position. While making his way forward, Hannibal noticed the rear view mirror on the passenger side was facing the door so that Hamilton couldn't see the side of the truck. Hannibal signed in relief since that was in his favor and the driver wouldn't see him until he got next to the passenger door.
As Hannibal got to the door and started to pull the handle, Hamilton heard the creak of the hinges and spotted Hannibal in the mirror, so he fired off a shot from his pistol through the open window. Seeing the gun in the mirror, Hannibal pulled back from the door, but in an awkward position, he wasn't quick enough and shot hit him in the right shoulder. The force of the impact and the immediate pain going through his body brought on an involuntary reaction, so Hannibal lost his grip and tumbled off the side of the truck into the muddy drainage ditch beside the road. As he was falling, Hannibal tucked and rolled the way he was taught in jump school to minimize the impact, but it still hurt when he hit the ground hard.
With only his focus on Hannibal, Hamilton didn't notice the rapidly approaching T intersection, and as he tried to cut the wheel for a hard right turn, the sudden jerk on the steering wheel sent the top-heavy truck onto its right wheels. The momentum then caused it to roll over several times before coming to rest in the field at the end of the intersection. After laying in the ditch for a minute while trying to get his breathing under control, Hannibal climbed out of the ditch and stood up painfully while holding his injured shoulder and arm to his side and shaking his head to get the blood out of his eyes from a gash about his right eye. When he glanced at the field and the flipped truck, Hannibal saw smoke, and the strong smell of gasoline fumes struck his nose from the wrecked vehicle, so with one last adrenaline dump into his system, he ran to the wrecked truck holding onto his immobile arm. Once there Hannibal pulled and tugged as he tried to get a dazed Hamilton out of the truck before it blew, but the crazy colonel was jammed under the dashboard tightly.
After some more painful tugging with his right arm as the flames were already licking the cabin from the engine compartment, Hannibal dislodged Hamilton from the dashboard and got him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, all the while ignoring the pain in his right shoulder. Once clear of the vehicle, Hannibal jogged away as fast as he could manage with the limp body of Hamilton across his shoulders and tossed him into the same ditch he fell into earlier and fell in on top of him just as the truck blew up.
Hannibal pressed himself deep into the hole as the flames passed over his head and after they subsided, he poked his head up to see several men running down the road towards him. Among the men were Decker, Crane, Bradley, and Parker with the white-coated doctor and his orderlies bringing up the rear and Hannibal heard the sound of sirens in the distance. So, when he climbed out of the muddy ditch, Hannibal stood there on his unsteady legs watching the cavalry as they approached all the while keeping an eye on Hamilton who was still unconscious in the ditch. Even though Hannibal was starting to go into shock from his wounds the last thing any of them needed was for Hamilton to get away and this situation begins all over again.
Under the circumstances, Hannibal didn't want to be stuck in an Army base hospital either and then sent the stockade, but he had lost his choice in the matter by getting shot, and Decker did promise to keep him out of the stockade if he could. So much for my promise to Maggie to not get hurt, he thought.
After Decker and Crane arrived, their first thought was to help Hannibal, but he shook his head. "Get Hamilton," Hannibal said painfully. "Make sure that maniac doesn't go anywhere."
So after giving the doctor a look as he ran up behind him, Decker, pointed towards Hannibal and went to take custody of Hamilton. As the doctor ran up to Hannibal, he noticed the bleeding bullet wound immediately in Smith's right shoulder, along with his legs visibly shaking under him about ready to collapse. Without another thought, the doctor took hold of Hannibal's good arm and lowered him down to the pavement. With Hannibal on his back, the orderly with the straight jacket placed it under the colonel's head as a makeshift pillow as the doctor looked over his patient and put pressure on his shoulder to slow the bleeding. Hannibal grinned weakly at the man in thanks and looked over at Bradley and Parker, who'd arrived at his side. "General's, this wasn't exactly how this was supposed to go down."
"Well Hannibal. It's just like most of your plans as I remember. They always work in the end, but they don't always work the way you intended them to." Parker said.
"Yeah, Mr. Murphy always has a say in there somewhere with messing them up," Hannibal stated as he winced as the doctor applied pressure to his injured shoulder, trying to slow down the profuse bleeding.
"Is there anything we can do, doctor?" Bradley asked.
"Could one of you take his good hand and give him something to hang on to until the ambulance gets here? He's in a great deal of pain and I don't have anything to give him." Doctor Mitchell said as he looked down at Hannibal. "In other words Colonel Smith, you're a mess."
Hannibal looked up at the doc and smiled. "No kidding, doc. I don't know of any part of me that doesn't hurt right now and just to let you know, the suicide thing was just a rouse to get the guy in the truck to show his hand. I'm not suicidal by any means."
"Okay colonel. I'm not so sure about that after watching you jump onto a moving truck and then fly off of it, but we'll deal with that part later, so just lie still." The doctor ordered.
Being the first of the two men to move, General Bradley walked over to Hannibal's side, knelt down by Hannibal side and took his hand, so acknowledged the grip by holding on tight in an attempt to stay awake.
A couple of minutes later several MP cars and an ambulance arrived on the scene. Once the MP's with Decker and Crane walking behind them= escorted a very dejected Hamilton towards the waiting jeep, Hannibal watched from the ground.
"Colonel Smith." The doctor said as he tried to get Hannibal's attention away from the prisoner.
"Yeah, doc," Hannibal said, as he looked back at the doctor with pain in his voice evident.
"We're going to lift you now so we can get you on the stretcher. It's going to hurt and I just wanted to warn you before we do it."
"Go for it, doc. The pain isn't going away anytime soon while I'm laying here." Hannibal drawled. And as they lifted him, Hannibal earlier statement was forgotten as he gripped General Bradley's hand even harder fighting to stay conscious through the waves of pain and to keep from screaming.
Even after the medics had Hannibal loaded onto the ambulance, he continued to grip the General's hand tightly as he rode with him, using it as a lifeline to stay awake and the general allowed him the comfort. Hannibal just saved his life, and it was the least he could do to give him some of his strength and something to hold on to while en route to the hospital. When the ambulance arrived at the trauma center, the medics offloaded Hannibal quickly into emergency surgery to remove the bullet from his right shoulder and assess his other injuries.
Several hours later, a Dr. Mitchell exited the operating room and met with the men in the waiting room to give them the report on Colonel Smith's. Decker, Crane, Bradley, Parker and a couple of other officers were anxious to hear his diagnosis. As he approached, Decker wished he could let Smith's men and his lady friend know about his injuries, Hannibal Smith saved his life, and he owed him that much.
General Bradley was the first one to speak up. "How's Colonel Smith, doctor?"
"He's still in surgery, and it'll be a while before they're finished. Once he clears recovery he'll be moved into a private room as you requested, General Bradley. Colonel Smith lost a lot of blood, so the surgeon had to stabilize him before we could take him to surgery. Other than the round in his right shoulder, he has several cracked ribs and a severely bruised left shoulder. Also, Colonel Smith has a very nasty gash over his right eye that required almost 30 stitches, a grade 2 concussion and numerous cuts and bruises over his entire body, so he's in pretty serious condition gentlemen. Getting shot and falling off the side of a moving truck tend to traumatize the human body. But given enough time to rest and heal, he should heal up without any lasting effects. His right shoulder will take several weeks to heal, and it will stay in a sling until he starts physical therapy, so he'll need to learn to use his left hand since his records say he's right-handed."
"How long will he need to stay in the hospital, doctor?" Decker asked.
"I hope you don't plan on putting him in a cell in the stockade anytime soon Colonel Decker because I won't allow it. He'll be in the hospital for a least a week, maybe two. After that, the last place he needs to be is in a jail cell. He needs peace and quiet and a place where he can move around to recover, not cooped up in a cell where his wounds could get infected."
"Don't worry about that doc. He won't wind up in a cell if I have anything to say about it." General Bradley spoke up.
"I agree with General Bradley about keeping him out of the stockade." General Parker piped in.
Both generals turned to Colonel Decker who decided to chime in as well to the conversation. "I didn't intend to put him in a cell if I can help it. We've already talked about it since Smith told me he still has nightmares due to the POW camp and confinement triggers them. I was hoping to get some support for putting him in restricted quarters until a hearing can be scheduled."
The psychiatrist who'd been waiting at the entrance for Colonel Smith decided to add his comments to the conversation. "Colonel Smith was a POW? It's not part of the records I received, and he still has nightmares. I can bet being locked up triggers them, why was he locked up before and that not taken into consideration."
"He said the same thing, doctor and said that was the real reason for the escape from Ft. Bragg because he wasn't dealing with the nightmares and wasn't receiving any help from the army. So they escaped so he could get some help and from what little he told me earlier today, it took him six months to finally get out from under the nightmares. You can ask him about it once he wakes up and he admitted that he needs help, but I don't think Colonel Smith will talk to you because he doesn't trust the army right now after he asked for help at Bragg and it was thrown back in his face as denied because he was faking."
"Wow, I can see why he won't trust me then."
Do you have any idea on how to get a hold of his men? I know they're his friends and need to know he's hurt." General Parker asked as he butted in. "We owe him that much for saving our lives, including you Colonel Decker."
"If I knew that general, I would've caught them by now. I have a pretty good idea they are in the area, probably watching the base. I know they didn't like the idea of Smith going with me. There've been rumors for years they're somehow connected with Captain H.M. Murdock over at the VA Hospital. I've never been able to prove it or catch Murdock in the act with them, so it's just a feeling. You might try letting him know about Smith since he was Smith's chopper pilot in 'Nam. I do know they still visit Murdock from time to time, so he might know how to get a hold of them."
"Not a bad idea, Decker. I remember Captain Murdock. He was probably the best combat chopper pilot we had in 'Nam and a damn shame he's now in the VA." Bradley commented. "I'll be right back."
"General, hold on. There's one more thing, I think Smith has a girlfriend, and I met her earlier today. She's a medical doctor, and the only thing I know is her name is Maggie. It was easy to see they're very close."
"Thanks, Colonel Decker. I'll be right back." Bradley said as he left the waiting room.
After a few minutes, General Bradley returned. "All I got was his answering machine, so I talked to the duty nurse, and she transferred me to Doctor Richter. He said Murdock is on a field trip for a couple of days, but he normally checks his answering machine a couple of times a day. The doctor said he would tell him at his next session. Why don't head to the cafeteria and get something to eat. We won't be able to see Hannibal for a while yet."
After leaving the warehouse, Murdock drove Maggie's Jimmy to a small park to wait with Maggie sitting worried beside him the passenger seat. When they hadn't heard from Face or BA after 2 hours, Murdock went to a payphone and called the van, but other than seeing some smoke and hearing a small explosion with some sirens, they hadn't heard from Hannibal, and now the base was quiet. So, now Murdock got worried and while still at the payphone decided to check his answering machine. Once he got General Bradley's message and talked toDoctor Richter, who relayed the same message, Murdock contacted Face and BA on the mobile phone in the van and instructed them to meet him and Maggie at a diner close to the base main gate.
Murdock climbed back into the Jimmy with Maggie to give her the news.
"Doc. I had a message on my answering machine from General Bradley. It seems Hamilton made a move on all of them right after Decker and Hannibal arrived by trying to run them over with a 2-ton truck. You can already guess Hannibal went after him and caught him, but he managed to get pretty banged up in the process. When the general called Hannibal was still is surgery because Hamilton shot him in the right shoulder, along with getting pretty messed up when he got tossed off the side of the truck."
Maggie looked at Murdock with tears streaming down her face because it was just what she feared, Hannibal got himself hurt again, and now he was a prisoner of the US Army on the base. Murdock leaned over and grabbed her up in a bear hug. "The colonel is going to be okay, Maggie. He's just going to have to take some time off to heal. General Bradley and General Parker want to talk to the guys, and he also mentioned you by name, so I guess Decker told him about you and you're a part of this now, Maggie. No matter how much Hannibal wanted to keep you out of it."
Maggie leaned back from Murdock and sniffed, drying her tears with a Kleenex Murdock handed her. "I don't care, if it keeps him with me. What now?"
"We go meet the guys at a diner near the base. They need to call this General Bradley and let them know they're coming. You have to go with them because I have to arrive via a different route to keep the army from knowing I'm with the team. It seems Doc Richter told the general I was out on a field trip, so I'll call him and get the doc to give me a pass to come to the base? We'd better go meet the guys now." Murdock explained.
"Yeah," Maggie whispered.
"You know Maggie. I got the feeling from the general's call and things he said that he's up to something. I wonder what it is?" Murdock stated.
"I hope it's good news, Murdock. I don't know how much more of this kinda life I can take or how much more Hannibal can before he breaks down from the unrelenting stress. He needs to get cleared by the army soon or just retire from the business if he wants to live longer. He was telling the truth about me warning him about his blood pressure going up. It has to be the stress, and I don't want him having a heart attack or a stroke. How do you stand it?" Maggie wondered.
"You get used to it, doc. It just takes time, but you never get used to the stress, and you're right Hannibal needs to slow down, especially if his nightmares have come back." Murdock stated.
After meeting with the guys, Murdock had Doctor Richter pick him up, and afterward, Dr. Richter called General Bradley and told him they were on their way to see Hannibal. OF course, The doctor lied to the general by saying he managed to contact the group on the field trip and Murdock came on back early to see his old friend when he learned about his injuries.
To keep Murdock protected, Face and BA waited a few minutes before making their call to General Bradley. Both men wondered about the cover story the general promised to leave them at the main gate and if it was a trap, but it was the only way for them to access the base to see Hannibal without being arrested. Of course, Face, BA, and Maggie arrived first and drove directly to the hospital after clearing the main gate. When they drove up the hospital, BA and Face were expecting MP's waiting at the front doors to take them into custody first thing, but they were pleasantly surprised when only General Bradley and General Parker met them in the hospital lobby next to the admitting desk.
"Hello, Sirs. Thank you for letting us know about Hannibal. How's he doing?" Face said, his face full of worry for his friend.
"He's pretty banged up, lieutenant." General Parker stated.
General Parker looked around and spotted Maggie standing behind Face. "You must be Hannibal's friend Maggie, Colonel Decker told us about you." General Parker looked up at Face, and BA. "Your old chopper pilot Murdock called after General Bradley left a message for him about Hannibal and his injuries. Anyway, he's on his way here with his doctor and they should be here soon." Parker looked down at Maggie and felt sorry for her when he noticed her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying. "I think maybe I'll have the doc come tell you how he's doing. Once we have everyone together, General Bradley and I will inform you what our plans for Colonel Smith are."
So, General Parker took Maggie's hand and led the way to Hannibal's room. When they arrived, Doctor Mitchell met them outside, and since Colonel Smith's girlfriend was a medical doctor, he handed her Hannibal's chart before she could ask for it. And, of course, Maggie first reaction was to open it up and check each page thoroughly, then and only then she relaxed and looked up to catch the eyes of the other two men. Hannibal was going to be okay as long as he took it easy for a while to heal and that was going to be hard to keep Hannibal from rushing his recovery and trying to do things before he was ready, but that was normal for him. After a couple of minutes, Maggie handed the chart back to Mitchell. "OK, now that I have Doctor…ah."
"Sullivan"
"Thanks. Now that I have Doctor Sullivan up to date, let me give you guys a clear picture of what's in store for Colonel Smith."
Face, BA and Maggie heard a noise behind them and turned around to see Murdock walking down the hall with Dr. Richter "Hi you guys, long time no see. How's the colonel?"
"Hi, Murdock. It's good to see ya." Face said, sticking out his hand to Murdock to keep up appearances. "The doctor here was just about to tell us." Face said as he shook Murdock's hand and the two men were putting up quite the convincing front like they hadn't seen each other in a while.
"Go ahead there, doc. Don't let my arrival stop you?" Murdock said. "I want to know how the ol' colonel is doing too."
"OK, as I was saying. Colonel Smith was shot in the right shoulder. He lost a lot of blood before his arrival at the hospital and is currently in the process of being given a transfusion. We removed the bullet and closed the wound, but there is a lot of soft tissue damage to the shoulder, and he won't have use of it for weeks, so he will have to use his left hand for a while. We just moved him from recovery into a private room, so he's still sedated at the moment and won't wake up until tomorrow morning. In addition, he was thrown off a moving truck and sustained several injuries from hitting the ground. He has several cracked ribs, a severally bruised left shoulder, a grade 2 concussion, a gash over his right eye and numerous cuts and bruises over his body. He will be really sore for several days on top of the shoulder. I don't intend to release from the hospital for a least a week. After that, General Bradley needs to explain the situation to you."
"That comes later." The general stated since he could tell that they were all concerned about their friend. Why don't you guys check on Hannibal first? Then we'll talk about it."
All three men agreed Maggie should be the first to see Hannibal, and she should be alone; then they would go in. So, Maggie entered the room and saw Hannibal asleep on the bed with soft beeping sounds of several monitors heard in the room. He was shirtless with his right arm encased in a sling with a large bulky bandage running over his shoulder and chest with another one binding his cracked ribs. Hannibal had several IV lines were running into his left arm, along with being attached to a heart monitor so the medical staff could watch his vital signs. Ever the efficient doctor, Maggie's eyes tracked up his left arm and saw the deep purple bruising across his left shoulder, so once she finished her observation, she moved to the bed, and her first reaction was to take his pulse, which was weak but slow and steady. Taking a look at Hannibal's bruised face, the oxygen cannula under his nose, Maggie reached up to push an errant lock of silver hair away from the bandage over his right eye before kissing him on the forehead, to which he briefly stirred, like he knew she was there and then settled down quietly. Satisfied that Hannibal was stable, Maggie sat down in the chair beside the bed for a few quiet minutes before the guys came in and watched the steady rhythm of his breathing while she stroked the back of his hand. "Oh, Hannibal." She sniffed. "What are we going to do now? They know about you and me and with you laid up like this, you sure won't be going anywhere for a while. Bad Rock won't be safe for you anymore. They'll be watching me and my house for sure."
"Don't worry, Maggie. We'll figure out a way for you and Hannibal to be together. I promise." Face said as he entered the room. "You two deserve to be together. Hannibal deserves to have a normal life. He's been shafted by the army for far too long."
"How are you going to get him out of here when he's able to be moved?" Maggie wondered.
"We'll figure that out when the time comes, dear lady. How's he doing?" Murdock said, nodding at the colonel.
"Fine, Murdock. Nothing that a lot of rest, quiet and time won't cure." Maggie started to get up from the chair, but BA held up his hand. "No doc. You're a part of this team now. You stay with us."
"Thanks, BA," Maggie stated.
"No, thank you, Maggie. Hannibal's the happiest when he's with you. You are the best thing to ever happen to him. Believe me; you're not going anywhere. He does have nightmares, but you've become his support system, and he relaxes more around you than with us. He needs that support right now to get over these new nightmares. Besides, who'd we get to patch him up when he's on the JAZZ." Face gave Maggie a big hug. "You've made a big difference in his life. He's got someone to turn to now when he needs to get away." Face looked at the guys. "I think we'd better leave, so we don't disturb the colonel and see what those generals want."
Face led the way out of the door to the corridor. "OK, sirs. What do we need to talk about?"
"This way, Lieutenant. All of you need to come, including Doctor Sullivan since she's a part of this now." General Bradley said, pointing in the direction of the lounge. When the group arrived, Colonel Decker and Captain Crane were sitting in chairs already waiting on them.
"Please be seated, all of you." General Bradley ordered. "What we are here to discuss is the disposition of Colonel Smith. General Parker and I feel we owe him a great deal for saving our lives and it's more than we can ever repay, and so does Colonel Decker, as unlikely as that may seem to you, three men. What we're going to do is this. The only people who know about Doctor Sullivan are General Parker, Colonel Decker, Captain Crane, Doctor Mitchell and myself. Colonel Decker and Captain Crane are no longer assigned to the detail to capture The A-Team. They are joining my staff and therefore under my orders to keep their mouths shut about Dr. Sullivan and anything they know. Besides Colonel Decker felt he owed Colonel Smith that much for saving his life. Someone else will be taking over the chase. At this point, I don't know who that will be?"
"Chase, General?" Face questioned.
"Yeah, Lieutenant. Chase. As soon as Colonel Smith is stable enough, he will be transferred to the VA hospital for further treatment and rehabilitation since there are no rehab facilities here at this hospital. And yes, it's the same VA that Captain Murdock is currently residing. If he disappears from there, then so be it, but you'll have to take care of that part of the plan yourselves. We can't be a part of it. But, I don't intend to stay quiet any longer about your situation, so I'm starting my own investigation, and I will get to the bottom of the charges against Hannibal because I owe him that much. "
Face, BA and Murdock looked at each other. "Why the VA, General?" Face asked.
"It would be the safest and easiest place for you to get him out and Captain Murdock is already there, so there he can keep tabs on his progress for you. I would leave him there for a few days if I were you, so he has more time to recover and be properly taken care of, I would wait until he starts rehab so he can get the use of his arm back." General Bradley stated.
"What about guards, General?" Face asked.
"Only one guard will be assigned for each rotation and I figure that you can find way to get around one." General Bradley replied.
"How'd you manage to arrange that, General. The army's been chasing us for over ten years." Face wondered.
"I arranged it because why would you need more than one guard on a man who's injured and bedridden. It would be a waste of time, money and manpower and the Army is real big on saving money where it can right now, and a squad of army MP's would cause the VA staff headaches." General Bradley stated to answer the question.
"I have an even better way for the Army to save money, General Bradley. Stop chasing us and clear our names." Face said.
"I intend to do that, lieutenant. But I don't have the authority to override the arrest warrants at the moment, but I will make it happen. Just give me some time." The general said smiling. "I'll even give you the rotation schedule for the guards, how's that." General Bradley stated.
"Great. What's the catch, General?" Face asked.
"The catch gentlemen is that you two need to leave immediately before anyone starts asking questions and recognizes you. We managed to pull a cover story at the guard gate, but that won't hold for very much longer. Doctor Sullivan can stay because she was in the army and we can set up a cover for her to be around here since she is a licensed physician in the state of California and so can Murdock since he's here with his doctor. Doctor Sullivan and Captain Murdock can keep you informed about Colonel Smith's condition." General Bradley stated.
"Thanks, General." Face stated.
"Don't thank me yet, gentlemen. After you get him out of the VA, our help stops there for now. If we ever see you again, we will have to try to capture you until we get you cleared. If it helps any, I've never believed you guys were guilty of anything except following your orders. I know Hannibal too well for that, he's too honor-bound ever to rob a bank for money and let me rephrase that, burglarize the bank. You went in while it was closed. Orders yes, Money no. Anyway, I'll look into it as best I can. If I find out anything that'll help you guys, I'll shuttle it through Captain Murdock. But, that's all I can promise." General Bradley stated.
Face stood up and went over to the generals. "Thanks. Both of you. I'll give a start to your investigation, General Bradley. Hannibal was on the promotion list before we went to Hanoi and never told. We've been told it's in the open records at Ft. Bragg in the offices of the 5th and I know he talked about having nightmares at Bragg, so check the records at the stockade. I'm sure they noted it because the medical staff sure did. The docs wanted him pulled out and put in the hospital because his health and mental status were declining, but good old Colonel Lynch put the kybosh on that." Face stated as he put out his hand to the men and shook both of their hands and BA did the same. They turned to leave and walk out, but before going, Face and BA exchanged glances, turned around and came to attention and gave both generals a picture perfect military salute, which was returned by both men in kind. Face and BA did a snap turn on their heels and walked out of the door.
Three weeks later at Maggie Sullivan's place in Bad Rock, BA and Face pulled up into the van to see Hannibal reclining out on the front porch soaking up some sun. His right arm was still in a sling, and the angry red scar above his eye was visible. But most of the bruises on his face were slowly disappearing, and as he slowly got out of the chair to greet his men, it was apparent he was still stiff and sore from being tossed off the side of the truck, but was in good spirits. "Hi ya guys."
"Hi Hannibal. How are you feeling?" Face asked.
"Still quite sore, but other than that. OK." Hannibal replied.
"Good. Have you been behaving like a good patient for Maggie?" Face asked another question.
"Are you kidding, Face?" Maggie said as she came out of the front door after hearing the conversation on the porch. "He's being himself, of course, and trying to do things he's not ready for. But then, what's new. I have to keep an eye on him at all times, and it's like trying to corral a little boy."
Hannibal gave her a wounded look. "Now see here, Maggie. I can't be all that bad."
"Oh yes, you can, dear. But I love you, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Maggie stated smiling.
"How are your nightmares, have you been talking to Maggie about them?"
"He has, Face. He's had a couple of minor ones since he got here and talked to me about them and at least about a few things about some of the others before getting shot. As long as he's talking to me about it, I'm happy with letting him work through with telling me the rest when he's ready."
"Good deal. It's about time he talked to someone. It's like pulling teeth to get him to talk to us. Oh yeah, Hannibal. I found out who took Decker's place. A general named Fulbright. Do you know him?" Face said.
"Yeah, Face I do. Ol' Bull Fulbright. Hmmm, well things ought to get fun. It'll be interesting." Hannibal said, then turned to Maggie and hugged her. "Maggie, remember that promise I made you. I told you that nothing would keep me away from you. Well, I just wanted to tell you again and say, Maggie Sullivan, I love you with all my heart, one day it will all be over, I will marry you, and we'll be together forever, and I love it when a plan comes together."
The End