I don't own any content, A-Team related or any other known characters that may be referred to during my story. O/C are mine.
The team had just finished their meeting about the last phase of their mission and Hannibal had dismissed them all. He turned to go over some papers on the counter in their makeshift planning room at the farm. When he turned back to the table he was surprised to see Murdock sitting there, rolling the Matchbox car that had stood in for the truck caring their mobile holding cell, back and forth with his index finger.
"Is something wrong Captain?" Hannibal asked as he sat down in the chair next to Murdock. The younger man continued to roll the car, but Hannibal could see that Murdock was chewing at his lip and starring intently at the three green army men that represented the rest of the team on the roof of the building.
Hannibal, not wanting to startle the captain, cleared his throat and that gained him Murdock's attention. "Did you want to go over something, son?" the colonel offered.
"Just thinkin'." Murdock voiced quietly.
"About?" Hannibal cautiously probed.
There was a pause and then the pilot's quiet voice, just barely more then a whisper asked "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
Hannibal tipped his head with a look of concern taking over his face. The boys had stopped being that formal with him along time ago, even before they had become fugitives. He had to wonder why Murdock was reverting to it now but he was going to follow it through and see where it took them. "Of course, go ahead."
"I am a Ranger. Just like all of you guys. Don't ya think I could be more useful than just sitting in the truck and babysittin' a bunch of wannabe thugs and driving the truck into the warehouse on your cue? I mean I can help, why am I just sittin' in the truck?" the pilot voiced quietly to his C.O. and he continued to rock the toy car.
Hannibal gave Murdock a pat on the shoulder trying to break his focus on the toy "Of course you can do more. I know that, but you need to trust me like I trust you boys. It's not that I am benching you, but rather I am keeping you on deck in case I need you to come to bat. You see Captain, my plans do... sometimes... on rare occasions, go a little… off-kilter." Murdock shot him a mocking look of disbelief as Hannibal continued "and it's good to know I have someone out there; the proverbial ace up my sleeve."
Hannibal now had Murdock's full attention. "I mean Face's plans are good...most of the time, but he tends to overlook the little details. And that gets him into trouble when it snowballs. And B.A., well he would love nothing more then to smash his way through the problem. But you, you share my love for the over-the-top theatrics." The older man said with a smile "Your plans, though unconventional, usually turn out just fine in the end... well except that time that you tarred and feathered that drug runner from Long Beach and got Face covered in that slop too."
Hannibal paused smiling as he remembered the look on the Lieutenant's face when the cascade of feathers came fluttering down on top of him. "That was more than a bit of a mess… logistically, I mean.
"B.A. wasn't going to let him into the van, and I can't really say that I blamed him – it was a damn good thing we had a tarp that he could sit on. And you lucked out big time because I was sure that we were going to have to shave his head to get the tar out." Hannibal paused "How did you know that citrus oil mixture would get that mess out of his hair?"
"I didn't. It was the olive oil and lime I use as a marinade to make that citrus pork you like - I just happened to have it in the fridge ready for dinner, thought I'd try it. Figured it couldn't hurt and it worked." Murdock said with a shrug.
"Good thing! He's still trying to expense me for the jacket he was wearing. Whoever pays that much for a sports coat is nuts!" Hannibal exclaimed, clearly in disbelief of Face's wardrobe costs.
Murdock laughed shaking his head "No, wearing it to a sting was nuts. Paying that much was just stupidity. And B.A. calls me a fool." the young man laughed.
"True, but you know you are just as needed around here as the rest of us." Hannibal gave the man another fatherly pat on the shoulder. "Now go get some sleep, we move out soon and I want everyone rested up and ready to go." with that Murdock stood up and walked towards the door but stopped just short, turning back to meet eyes with Hannibal.
"Umm… Colonel. Thanks for…well… everything." and with a smile Murdock turned and walked out of the room, leaving Hannibal alone with his own thoughts.