"Rise and shine, kids! We're going to church."
Groans emerged from the boy's bedroom.
"What is church, and why are we going there?" Ron whined, as his blankets were stolen from him. Luckily Hannibal was too busy torturing him to let his comment sink in.
Harry yawned and sat up. He quietly began to dress while Hannibal teased Ron out of bed.
"Something a little more formal than jeans and a shirt is called for," Face said from the other room, "come here, Harry, see if this fits you."
Some on-the-spot tailoring later, Harry was dressed in black slacks and a button-up shirt. Ron had by now been tossed out of bed by BA and given similar clothes to wear.
Hermione emerged from her room wearing a skirt and blouse. Her eyes were daring the boys to comment. Harry wisely elbowed Ron in his side when the redhead opened his mouth.
"Breakfast, and then we're off. We'll brief you on the situation in the van."
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"So, Hannibal, why are we going to church, and one miles and miles away, no less?" Hermione asked while the van sped along the empty road.
"We got a note from a church member. Seems this church is having trouble with some major bullies. They set up a few programs for the poor families in that town – helping kids with homework, running a daycare so single mums can take a job. A lotta kids go to college because of them. Some of the richer townsfolk don't appreciate that."
"Why can't their please-men take care of it?" Ron asked, "it has to be illegal to bother programs like that."
"Well, it is, but for some reason the local authorities won't do anything," Face explained, "I know the priest who runs the church, and I owe him a lot. He's a good man and doesn't deserve that kind of trouble."
"Who does," Hermione shrugged, "but being a priest, he can't fight back as effectively."
"That's right," BA groused, "and any sucka messin' with them kids gets my fist in their face. Hard enough for those folks to get by."
"True. Well, we'll attend the service and linger afterwards to see what the situation is."
Ron sent a look of panic at Hermione. "Mi," he whispered, "I don't know what that is! How am I supposed to act?"
"It's okay, Ron," Hermione whispered back, "there are plenty of Muggles who don't know how to act in church. As long as you at least pretend to know you've heard of the concept 'church'. Just go with the flow."
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Harry followed the service with great interest. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had not been particularly fond of 'church people' as they had called it. Of course, his aunt and uncle weren't particularly fond of just about anything that wasn't Dudley or rich customers.
He did notice that the guy in charge recognized Face. Face, sitting next to him, was obviously pleased to see the man.
After the service, the group of seven lingered long enough for all churchgoers to disappear. When the church was empty, Face smiled brightly. The older man returned his smile and rushed towards the group with open arms. Catching Face in them, he hugged him warmly before holding him at arm's length.
"Well, well, if it isn't young Templeton. How are you, child? Oh, but you are a child no longer – all grown up now. Who are your friends?"
Face pointed at Hannibal.
"This is Colonel John Smith, or Hannibal, Father. I met him in Nam, and he saved my life more times than I could count."
"Father," Hannibal inclined his head, "good to finally meet you. Face here has told us a lot about you."
"Ah, did he now?" the priest's eyes twinkled like Dumbledore's did when confronted with a lemon drop.
"Mi, why do they all call him 'father'? He's not…I mean…" Ron whispered frantically.
He also whispered quite loudly. The priest burst in to loud guffaws as BA glared at them.
"No, Ron, he is not their biological father," Hermione explained, embarrassed, "honestly, don't you EVER read a book?"
"That's alright, young lady. There's no shame in ignorance. Why, even the Lord started out as an innocent baby."
"A Lord?" Ron paled, "Like You Know Who?"
Hermione smacked him soundly.
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Introductions completed, and Ron somewhat educated in the workings of the church, Father Martin invited them all to share lunch with him at his home.
"Tell me, Templeton, how are you? I've kept up with your exploits, and I must say I was worried."
Face lowered his eyes. "We did escape from prison, Father. If – if you prefer us to go…"
"No, no, dear boy," Father Martin smiled, "I didn't think my little Templeton could have changed so much over the years that the tales of the A Team's crimes could be true. Am I right?"
BA managed a smile, Murdock grinned broadly and Hannibal's eyes shone with respect. Face sighed in relief.
"No, Father. But we are on the wanted criminals list and associating with us could get you into trouble."
The twinkling eyes clouded over. "I have trouble enough, I doubt I would lose any sleep over associating with innocent wanted criminals."
Hannibal spoke up. "That's why we are here, Father. We heard about your troubles, and wanted to see if we could help."
"I really appreciate that," the priest said gratefully, "but I doubt there's much that can be done. Leroy and Wesley have the Sheriff in their pocket, and anyone who's tried to protest has been bribed or silenced by that gang. I know Sheriff Nader wishes there was something he could do, he's been kind to our kids before, but he needs those men to keep his job. He has five children of his own to support. And you have your own young ones to consider," he motioned at the teens.
"These are our students," Murdock bounced, "we're teaching them the tricks of the trait, so to speak. The rules of the game. The…"
"Apart from that," Hannibal cut the pilot short, "it'll be easy for them to mix with your teens and not be noticed much. When do these men bother you most?"
"On Wednesdays and Friday nights, the most, when they've been drinking. They beat up Danny last Friday so badly he's in hospital. But Wesley is part of the city council, he's been doing his best to make life difficult for us there. Holding permits and the like."
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"I don't like this," Ron whined, "it's like lining up for Malfoy and his gang. Why didn't we just go back?"
"We CAN'T go back, Ron," Hermione sighed, "stop complaining. Though I'm a bit worried about falling behind in magic, Harry. The physical training and tactics will help, but in the end, you can't punch V-Voldemort out of existence. At some point, we'll have to find someone to teach us magic."
Harry shrugged. "I know, Mi, but for now this is a part of our training that has been awfully neglected. We didn't have the stamina for a long duel, never mind a full-fledged battle. Not to alarm you or anything, but I think trouble is heading our way."
Indeed, a group of thugs, led by a man in a dress suit, came over to the teens that were sitting on the front porch of the church, working on their homework.
"Haven't you learned anything?" the man said in disdain, "haven't we told you to get back to the gutter where you belong?"
He reminded the three magical teens so much of Malfoy and his goons that they barely refrained from cursing the men into green slugs.
"You – you lot are new here, aren't you?" the man noticed them now, "just what we needed – more trash. I think," his face brightened, "I think another lesson is required. Yes."
He motioned to his men and they closed in on the teens. Harry, Hermione and Ron immediately stood in front of the group, ready to fight as they had been taught over the past weeks.
A swing to Harry's head was easily deflected. Hermione placed her knee expertly in the groin of the man who tried to grab her. He let go in pain. Ron managed to break a nose before he was overpowered by two others. Harry and Hermione fought back to back against four men.
They were about to be overrun and beaten up when the A Team arrived, warned by one of the teens who had managed to sneak away while the Trio kept the attackers occupied.
BA immediately bodily picked up one of the man holding Ron and threw him onto the man in suit, who had only been looking on so far. Ron wrestled free of the other and after a few well-placed blows, that one too abandoned his quest to subdue the redhead.
Face, Hannibal and Murdock each took a man threatening Harry and Hermione. The fourth made the mistake of thinking Hermione was a timid little girl. A broken nose, a black eye and a punch in the gut later, he was cursing feminism and wishing for the good old days when women stayed home looking after the kids.
Harry and Face had fun punching the biggest of the lot back and forth between them until he was out.
After tossing the bunch of them on the street, Hannibal hauled up the leader.
"You listen to me, pal," he growled, "You leave these kids, the church, and Father Martin alone. You can tell THAT to your bosses."
"Hassling with kids," BA spat in disgust, "all them kids want is go to school and get a decent job. They work hard at it. Don't deserve this kind of trouble from you."
"Exactly. Now, BA, Face, Murdock – please escort these gentlemen off the premises."
"They'll come back," the teens said concerned, "they always do. They'll get us like they got Danny."
"Then we fight back," Harry said, "you can't let people like that decide your future for you! It's your life, you have the right to make it the best life you can get."
"Harry's right," Hermione's eyes glowed with determination, "education is important for the rest of your life. It decides whether or not you can get a job that will feed your family. Don't let them take that from you."
Seeing the teens exchange hesitant glances, and then slow nods, Hannibal smiled. "We'll get rid of them for you, don't worry."
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Later, Hannibal happened upon a trio of depressed teenagers.
"What's with you lot?" he asked.
"We lost," Ron said gloomily, "they nearly got us."
"Listen, kids, it was eight grown men against you three. You held your own until we got there. That was not bad for a first time. You got those kids thinking about their future, and that's a good thing. Overall, I'm pleased with how you are doing so far. Don't expect miracles right away, it takes hard work and a lot of sweat to get really good."
BA and Face, who walked in behind Hannibal, agreed.
"You did fine," BA said, "you're just skinny kids, and them grown men."
"True, BA. And they didn't expect Hermione here to be such trouble. I'm glad we got to see that, but I think I'll have nightmares about it, Mi," Face made a show of wincing.
"What are we going to do now?" Harry asked, "we can't keep fighting them. They need to be gone permanently."
"Yes, and we will make sure of that, don't worry kid," Hannibal's eyes glittered eerily as he lit another of his infernal cigars.