Chapter 7 – The Gelling of the Team

It has been a very emotional day and that takes a lot out of a man. Det. Johnson says his good-byes around 11:00, so the rest of the talk this night will be the three team members only. They don't have contacts anymore to call upon for information, so right now they are as dead in the water as the police. Det. Johnson has promised them any new information as soon as he gets it, but that could take a while. They are also awaiting the information from the crime lab. Hopefully, this will produce something to get them going in one direction or another. They never had this kind of luxury in the past, but they are willing to take all the help they can get at this time.

After a good night's sleep, they awake refreshed and ready to go, but where are they going? B.A. excuses himself and heads out. He says he has a surprise and he will be back in a couple of hours. Face gets on the phone and tries calling a few people he knows to see if there is anyone out there that can, or will help them. Murdock feels totally at a loss. He decides to clean up the area they have been living in and get weapons ready. He pulls out Face's locker to see what he has here at the apartment. Not a lot. He has two automatic rifles, a nine millimeter pistol and three hand grenades. Not enough. They are going to have to get more ammo and guns. What about my stash Murdock. Did you forget that I have several weapons at my place, and there is the storage locker, too? Hannibal I did forget. Sorry, I need to get my mind into sharper form. Maybe I need some ginko, they say that sharpens your brain function. Murdock smiles to himself as he cleans the hand gun. At least the guns will be ready, if needed.

B.A. calls Face on his cell. "Hey, come down to the front. I've got a surprise for you guys."

"Okay B.A. We'll be right down." He turns to tell Murdock, but he is in the bedroom.

"Hey Murdock, B.A. has something to show us. What are you doing in there?"

"Cleaning the weapons and oiling them. When was the last time you did this? They look a little grim."

"Well, I wasn't planning on using them again, so you caught me. I didn't keep my weapons at the ready."

"It's okay, kid, I've got them all ready to go, and it only took me an hour. What did you say? B.A. wants to show us something?"

"Yeah, let's go down." Why did Murdock sound like Hannibal just then? I've got to keep a real close eye on him. He is beginning to worry me!

They head down the elevator and out the front door. When they look down the street, they get a sight they never thought to see again. The van, in all its glory! It is black and grey, with a red stripe that separates the two colors. They stop in their tracks. They can't believe their eyes. B.A. jumps down and comes toward them. He has the biggest grin on his face, and he looks like a kid at Christmas.

"Well, whada ya think? Did I surprise you?"

Murdock is speechless, but his smile matches B.A.'s. Face can't believe it either. He thought the van was long gone. Where has B.A. been hiding it?

"Where? How? I can't believe it!" Face finally stammers out.

"I agree with you, oh facialed one. Where have you been hiding this?" Murdock finally speaks up.

"I found it in a junk yard. I went lookin' for it after we got back to L.A. all those years ago, and finally found it out in San Bernadino. I've been workin' on it for years. I was gonna bring it out for Hannibal's birthday this year, but…" he trails off uncomfortably.

"It looks great, B.A. I can't believe you have had the van this long, and not told any of us." Face is astonished.

"Well, I wanted it to be perfect before I brought it out, and I have been kinda busy lately, so I decided to wait until the Colonel's eighty-third birthday. Sorry guys. I didn't tell you about it earlier, you know, I was gonna make it a big deal for Hannibal."

They both understand his reasoning, but they still can't believe their eyes. Murdock walks over and practically pets the van. He is really excited. He goes to open the sliding door. It opens as smooth as butter. Nice! B.A. has made some improvements to the engine and interior and he is more than happy to give them a tour both inside and out of the "old girl" as Murdock calls her.

They all climb in for a test drive around town. Murdock gets in the back and shuts the door in Faceman's face. He knows that Face's rightful place is now in the passenger seat where Hannibal used to sit. B.A. of course, drives. After all the pain and agony over the past several days, this one act of camaraderie brings them back together more than anything. It is like they are whole again. Like this van, an inanimate object in many ways, has taken on life.

They drive around L.A. and lose total track of time, until B.A. declares that he is starving. They pull into a small diner and order lunch.

"Man I'm starvin'. When did we eat last anyway?"

"Oh, let's see big guy, maybe three hours ago." Murdock is hungry too.

"You know we haven't really been eating much the last few days, but I could go for a nice steak and salad myself." Face orders his meal and they begin to talk and unwind.

"Do you remember the time that your van was run off the road and we all flipped over? I think I had permanent damage from that one."

"Yeah, Murdock, you and me both. How about you B.A., remember that time?"

"All's I remember is that we made those guys pay for hurtin' my van. That was nice, real nice."

"You said she was in a junkyard? When exactly did you find her? Did she call out to you from the depths of the metal mountains?"

"No fool, the van didn't call nobody. I found it by searchin' all the places that scrapped cars for the police. It took me a lot of hours drivin around and lookin."

"Gee, she really is pretty unique. You would think she would have stood out in someone's mind," Face comments.

"I hate to say it fellas, but if you would have seen it when I found it, you would understand why no one recognized it. It was all rusted and beat up and I almost didn't realize it was my van."

"Wow! That just makes it seem more amazing that she looks like she does now. You did a lot of work and it must have taken you a long time. I am as impressed as always with you talent B.A."

"Thanks Murdock, I did put a buncha hours into rebuildin' her."

"Well someday in the near future, we'll have a real celebration of her rebirth so to speak. Maybe go on a trip to Vegas or somewhere, just to reacquaint ourselves with her."

"Murdock, you are nuts! It's only a van, not a person."

"I don't know B.A. I think that's kind of a nice idea. We should plan something, when all this is over."

"Sure. Whatever. I guess a road trip would be okay. As long as you (and he points at Murdock) don't jibber jabber too much, got it?"

"Cross my heart." Murdock crosses his heart with his finger as he says this.

As they head out the door, they notice a group of shady characters standing by the van. B.A. rushes over to make sure they aren't trying to break in, or steal the tires, or something.

"What're you doin' by my van?"

"Chill out buddy, we're just looking." One guy steps toward B.A.

"Yeah, we're just lookin'. Another one comes forward.

"Well, I think it's time for you ta move on. You're done lookin'! Got it?"

"Hey, that's not very friendly," says the first guy.

"Yeah, we weren't hurtin' it, were we fellas?"

"The rest of the group of five, all say "no", at the same time.

As B.A. starts to walk by them, the first one pushes him into the second one. They try to play a mean game of pinball with B.A. as the ball. Of course, they just made a big mistake. B.A. grabs the closest one, and tosses him about six feet onto the pavement. They all try to rush him, but by then Murdock and Face have joined in. Fists start flying and then bodies as they work their way through the group. Punch! Punch! Toss! Punch! Back to B.A., toss!

When all five of them are lying in a heap on the ground, the team climbs into the van and B.A. drives out of the parking lot.

"Thanks, fellas, but I think I could have handled them."

"Sure, big guy. You really didn't need our help, but we need to get in a little practice, too."

"Yeah B.A. We just wanted to have a little fun, too." Face is shaking his fist as if he broke some bones. "Fun!"

The cares of the world have, for a few brief hours, been lifted from them as they talk of all the ins and outs of the van's rebirth, old times they spent in it, and finally to what they can do with it in the future. It is a great time, and they head back to Face's somewhat lighter of heart and ready to move forward. Of course B.A. has to take a couple of hard corners to prove he can still drift like in the old days. They don't have a clear direction as yet, but they at last feel more confident in their abilities and are ready to take on the challenge head on.