Chapter 8:

Face starts sawing through the ropes binding his wrists. He nicks his own arms from time to time and very quickly, the knife becomes slippery with blood. The lieutenant grits his teeth and tries to keep a good grip on the handle. He can feel the rope fraying and soon his arms fly free.
"Ah much better." Face works his arms and shoulders to get the kinks out. He turns to free Maureen, taking care not to cut her.
"Why are your hands wet?" She asks him curiously.
Face is momentarily distracted from his work. He'd forgotten about the blood. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it darling." Soon the woman's hands are freed and she rubs her raw wrists.
"I'm not your darling." Maureen huffs at the lieutenant. "What now?"
Face reaches down. The goons took everything from his pockets including his gun. But they forgot to check his socks. He fishes out his trusty picks and starts to work on the lock. It's an old model and it clicks open in seconds. Face smirks at Maureen in the silver moonlight.
"Now we try to find a car."

Murdock has some trouble keeping his eyes open in the well-lit living room. Beth slides into his view wearing silk pajamas, holding a glass of water and some painkillers. She hands the glass to him, her fingers lingering on his for a moment. He mumbles his thanks, feeling his cheeks heat up and she smiles at him. After swallowing the pills, he squints up at the colonel. "So what's the deal, Colonel?"
Hannibal takes out his cigar and lights it. Beth shoots him an annoyed look, but doesn't complain. The colonel starts pacing back and forth in front of the unlit fireplace. Murdock closes his eyes again. The pacing is making him dizzy. He can feel Beth's warm hands rubbing his shoulder and he starts to relax. The sweet smell of cigars fills the air. The antique clock chimes two times. Hannibal looks at the weary pilot. "When you didn't call in for your regular check I tried to contact Face, but got no reply. We found you in the stables knocked out cold." The colonel looks at B.A. "None of the warnings we set up, went off." Taking a drag from his cigar, Hannibal looks pensive. He looks at everyone in the room. "It seems that we have someone on the inside, guys.
Beth gasps, looking up at the colonel in shock. Murdock instinctively puts his arm around the woman for support. Some fuzzy memory tries to push itself to the front of his mind, but for the life of him, he can't make sense of it.

Face is creeping along the tool shed wall. He knows that their light hair will glow in the moonlight so he is trying to keep to the shadows. Maureen stumbles along on her high heels. Face is suppressing the need to sigh. No sense in complaining now. She's already doing enough complaining for the both of them. To his left he spots the pickup truck they must have arrived in. Maureen keeps staring at his blood stained sleeves. "You're bleeding!" She whispers. Face smiles reassuringly and shakes his head. He puts his finger to his lips. Making his way to the right hand door he tries the handle. It's unlocked! He quickly waves Maureen over to him and motions for her to get in the car. As silently as possible he clicks the door shut and makes his way to the other side.
He gets in quickly and starts rummaging around under the steering wheel, trying to find the right wires.

"So Faceman got taken?" Murdock asks Hannibal who reaches into his pocket and fishes out a well-worn rosary. Murdock's eyes lock onto the beaded string and he sighs. He remembers the dark skinned Reverend that gave Face the rosary. They were in Cam Ranh Bay during their recuperation from their stay in the Hanoi Hilton. Face wasn't really the religious type, but after… Murdock shudders. He guessed that Face needed something to hold on to. Something that's eternal...
"Maureen too…?" Beth swallows a small sob and hides her face in the pilot's shoulder. They hear stumbling in the hallway before the door opens to reveal a rather disheveled looking Carol. She immediately goes to her sister and embraces her. Murdock narrows his eyes at her. There is something about her, he just doesn't trust. Hannibal watches the exchange with a thoughtful expression on his face. He looks at B.A. and sees that the big black man has noticed it too.
'Better keep an eye on her.'

Face spots movement from the corner of his eye. A glint in someone's hand.
"Watch out!"
He pushes the woman down out of shear instinct when a loud bang sounds out and a searing pain of almost exquisite quality explodes in his left shoulder. He gasps breathlessly, when the bullet rips through muscle and bone and out the other side. Maureen can feel Face's body jerking on top of her and something warm and sticky is dripping in her hair and down her neck, making her scream. Glass is raining down on them from the driver side window of the car he'd been trying to hot wire. Face can feel the woman screaming under his arms, but he can't hear anything beyond the ringing in his own ears. Two more shots go off before all is quiet and the door is ripped open. Face is dragged out of the car by the scruff of his neck and deposited on the dirty ground. He groans, his blue eyes looking up at the stars in a daze. He's having trouble remembering where he is for a moment. Visions of bright green foliage and monkey calls superimpose themselves on the scene for a split second. He briefly considers letting the darkness consume him, when a bucket of cold water is dumped in his face. Face gasps and sputters and is roughly hauled onto his feet. His knees almost buckle, but when he hears Maureen scream out his name, he shakes his head to clear it. No time for weakness right now.

Face and Maureen are marched into a room and Face is dropped unceremoniously on his knees. He can feel his blood running down his back and chest, it's making him light headed and shaky. His left arm is hanging uselessly down his side. He tries to get a feel for his heart rate, but a swift kick to his stomach prevents him from getting a good read.
"Face!"
"I warned you not to try to be a hero, didn't I."
"I guess I'm getting hard of hearing in my old age." Face quips, panting and out of breath. Ian pulls back for another kick, but seems to think better of it.
"Get Greenville Downs on the phone. I wonder what your leader has to say about this."