I Need A Hero

"Help! Help! Can anyone hear me?" a female voice crackled over the radio in the van.

Crane and Decker looked at each other for a moment, before Crane grabbed the handset.

"Ma'am, I'm Captain Crane, US Army. Sitrep."

'Sitrep?' Tracey mouthed at Hannibal, rather confused.

He checked she wasn't holding the talk bar. "Just read the script, darling," he replied around the cigar, clenched between his teeth.

Depressing the talk bar, Tracey continued. "I've been captured by the A-Team."

"Where are you, ma'am?" Crane answered.

Hannibal nodded to reassure Tracey, encouraging her to go on.

"I don't know. It's some sort of disused poultry farm. I think near I57. I can't see much. I'm in a locked shed."

"Old Tom's, Turkey Twizzlers plant is north of Gulliver's Forest," Decker said, looking concerned. "We can be there in 15."

"Ma'am, we're en route. ETA 15 mikes. Stay calm," Crane relayed quickly.

"Get on frequency nine. Try and rally back-up," Decker ordered.

Desolate sobbing stopped Crane retuning the radio. "Ma'am, I need you to calm down and clear this transmission."

"No. No! Please don't go. I'm so scared." Tracey sobbed. Hannibal stood next to her, beaming at the broad's acting skills.

Impatient, Decker grabbed the radio off Crane. "Colonel Decker here. Ma'am, clear the radio."

"Rod, is that really you?"

Hearing his first name, Decker nearly swerved off the road. "Who is this?" he said in disbelief.

"Tracey Moore, your Tracey."

Decker's eyes widened in shock.

"The A-Team have me hostage and will exchange me for their van. I heard them talking before they left me here. Rod, I'm scared," the radio in the van continued.

"Tracey, honey, I'm coming," Decker replied, his voice gentler than normal. He released the talk bar. "I'm gonna wring Smith's neck if he touches one hair on her head," he growled.

"You know her, Sir?" Crane asked. Amazed his commanding officer might actually be human after all.

"She's my….was my girlfriend. At least until Smith got in the way. He must've tracked her down. Now wants to bargain this hunk of scrap for her life." Furious, he smashed his fist against the steering wheel.

"Keep him talking. Whatever you do don't let him end the connection," Hannibal said quietly to Tracey, before going off to join his men working in one of the outbuildings.

Jacket off, sleeves rolled up, Face approached his commanding officer. "Er, Hannibal, can I just clarify this plan with you?" He waved his hand towards Murdock holding metal sheets, while BA welded them on to the MP's Dodge, which they'd repaired and driven to the disused turkey processing plant . "Exactly why are we fortifying Decker's car?"

Casually slinging his arm over his second in command's shoulders, Hannibal removed his cigar to gesticulate through the air in front of them. "Kid, you have no imagination. We lure Decker here so he can save Tracey and we get BA's van back."

"Aww, Hannibal, I still don't get how," Face whined.

"Have you done a full weapons check, Lieutenant?" Hannibal returned to business.

"All we got is our M16s, Murdock's two lucky potatoes from the last job and that chaffer over there. Everything else is in the van." Face scowled as he replied.

"And the ammo?" Hannibal released Face and moved towards Mama B, who was busy squashing lumps of chopped hay into balls, using turkey droppings to hold the shape. She'd got a cab to bring her, Tracey and the baby to meet them when Hannibal radioed.

"We have 150 pellets," Face sighed, going to run his hand through his hair, stopping himself, remembering those hands had been helping Mama B until a few minutes ago. "But I still don't get it."

Pleased with the preparations, Hannibal raised his voice. "Face, get Tracey and tie her up in here. Everyone else, take your positions. Mama B, get the baby ready. It's nearly show time!" he ordered.

"Crane, wait here. If things go south get the hell outta here and get help," Decker ordered swinging out the van and heading to the open yard of the turkey farm.

"Smith, I'm here. Where's the girl?" he bellowed.

Eerie silence greeted him.

"Tracey? Tracey?" he shouted.

A faint whimper came from the largest barn, on the far side of the yard. Quickly scanning for hostiles, Decker ran to the shed door. With difficulty, he swung the large door open.

Seeing Tracey gagged and tied to a chair, next to his car, he raced forward.

"Honey, I'm here now," he said, carefully pulling the gag down.

"Sarah. Please check Sarah," Tracey begged.

"Who's Sarah?"

Decker was answered by a gurgling sound from the backseat of the car.

"She's your baby, Rod," Tracey managed between sobs.

"What the-"

"Decker," Hannibal's voice boomed. "BA wants his van back. Get Crane out of his van. Now!"

"Captain, drive the van in here!" Decker ordered into his handheld radio.

Crane slid into the driver's seat and started the van. It roared into life, then loudly backfired, making him jump.

A potato flew out of the exhaust pipe.

"Colonel, there's a problem," Crane gasped, then collapsed into the footwell at the second loud explosion.

Another potato fired from the back of the van.

Murdock watched in satisfaction at his covertly placed vegetable missiles. "Fastest french fries ever," he laughed to himself.

"Captain Crane, out of the van and on the ground, before I blow up the whole thing," Hannibal bellowed.

Terrified, Crane fell from the van and crawled to the front.

Face and BA worked the modified chaffer together, the burly black man swinging it on to target, while the conman fired a few feet from the cowering form of Crane.

To avoid being hit by the incoming poultry poop pellets, Crane limped, dodged,and skipped, driven towards the open shed. As he skidded into the cover of the building, the heavy door swung shut, with a loud clunk, as the external bolt was locked.

Hannibal stepped back from the door, chuckling. "You have five minutes to surrender or we're coming in."

Unseen, Murdock and Face pointed their M16s in the air and let off a loud volley of bullets. Quickly they fell back and leapt in the van. Face hung out the open side, his weapon prepared to cover Hannibal.

BA helped his mama into the passenger seat, then clambered behind the wheel.

Hannibal checked his team were ready. Running backwards, he dosed the ground with bullets from his rifle, creating more chaotic noise before jumping in beside Face, so he sat legs hanging out the open side door.

"Man, why ya giving 'em five minutes? That's the mistake he always makes, ya know, giving us time," BA grumbled, very concerned Hannibal was behaving like Decker again.

"Do none of you have any imagination?" Hannibal groused.

"Scooter," Mama B started. "Hannibal doesn't want to capture Decker, he only wants to bring him back together with Tracey and Sarah."

"Thank you, Mrs Baracus. Would you like to join the A-Team? I think you'd be better than my current team," Hannibal suggested, pulling a cigar from Face's shirt pocket. Face quickly handed over his zippo, before he got frisked by the jazzed up colonel.

"So why aren't we getting outta here, double time?" Murdock asked.

Hannibal chuckled, taking a large draw on the cigar. "And miss the show? Never,"

"What now, Sir?" Crane asked.

Decker was totally oblivious to the question, holding his daughter, with a strange, dreamy look on his face. Crane wasn't sure if it was the low light or if real tears were forming in his colonel's eyes.

"You saved us. Rod, you're my hero," Tracey gushed.

"She's- she's mine? She's my daughter?" Decker stuttered, protectively cradling the delicate child in his arms.

"Colonel Decker," Crane yelled forcefully. "Your family reunion is lovely, but we are trapped by the A-Team. So unless you've got a plan, your new family life may be short lived."

To emphasis the point, another cascade of bullets fired outside the shed.

Snapping his focus back to the immediate situation, Decker scanned their temporary prison. What would Smith do?

He focused on the Dodge, Sarah had been inside.

"See if you can get the car started," he ordered. Relieved when the car roared into life. "Tracey, honey, get in the back with my daughter," he helped her up off the chair.

Tracey gently took the baby off him. "She's called Sarah."

"You get down in the back, cover Sarah by lying over her. I'm going to get us all out of here," Decker said confidently. "Crane, I'll drive, you get ready with your pistol. I won't let Smith get away with this."

They climbed in the car. Decker gunned the engine. Confident the odd tank shield, welded on the hood, would protect them, he floored the car towards the locked doors.

He burst out of the shed and into the open yard. Spotting the A-Team's van, he drove towards it, fast.

BA stood on the gas. Wheels spinning, in a cloud of dust, he accelerated away.

Crane's aim was good, as bullets ricocheted off the van's armoured sides.

"Not too fast, Sergeant. I want a ringside seat," Hannibal ordered, hanging out the sunroof, looking at the chasing car.

Decker's car began misfiring. Seeing the gas gauge on red, frustrated, he tapped it. To no avail. The car stuttered to a stop. The red striped van calmly disappeared over the horizon.

"Damn you, Smith. Next time. I'll get you next time," Decker ranted, getting out of the defunct car and angrily kicking the tyres.

"Rod, you saved me. You saved Sarah." Tracey joined him, passing the baby over. "You saved our daughter." Standing on tiptoe, Tracey kissed him fully on the lips. "You're our hero."

Immediately Decker's fury evaporated, as he blushed under the praise.

Tracey threw her arms around her little family. "You'll always be my hero. Can we go home now?"

"Honey, anything. Anything for my precious girls."

Awkwardly, Crane stood off to the side, unable to disguise his giant smile at the beautiful reunion.

"Okay, Hannibal, we've got away, can you now explain your crazy plan?" Face requested, looking with disgust at his ruined, turkey turd stained suit.

"What red blooded man doesn't want to be someone's hero? Decker is always the villian. Today he has saved the girl from the big, bad A-Team. Today he is the hero." Hannibal relit his cigar and settled back, between the seats in the rear of the van.

Mama B reached across to pinch her son's cheek, affectionately. "And I got to spend time with my Scooter."

"Get off, Mama," BA said quietly, grinning from ear to ear, looking at his mom.

"And everyone lived happily ever after," Murdock chirped.

"I love it when a plan comes together," Hannibal announced.

Face rolled his eyes, slumping in his seat, shaking his head. "Oh boy!"

~FINI~