* * * NOTE * * *
Hey there, thanks for the reviews again! My apologies for any suspense caused by the earlier cliffhanger (hehe - not!).
It took me a little bit longer to work on this chapter.
Still, there is lots of mystery going on huh? But I promise, there will be answers. Next chapter should be interesting with a revelation. Hang on tight.

Chapter 10 - an almost hit

Face and Murdock were on their way to Joe's Antique Store, the lanky pilot driving the van.

Murdock had changed back into his own outfit again, which made him feel way more comfortable.
Face was sitting next to him on the passenger's seat with a roadmap on his lap. The conman glanced out of the window from time to time and gave instructions when to take a turn. Murdock sat behind the wheel with slightly sweaty palms. He was wearing a huge golden necklace around his neck and kept throwing nervous glances at Face, who didn't notice.
"I don't know Face…" Murdock suddenly blurted, "The van is still shimmying a little to the left when B.A ain't drivin' it'. Will you do me a favor and sit behind me with the lamp on your lap to distribute the weight a little? I.. I don't want to hit a fire hydrant or somethin'"
Noticing the blank stare and raised eyebrows from Face, Murdock sighed: "It's just that I don't have bricks to use as a contra-weight this time. And I'm pretty sure the big guy tuned the suspension of his ride to compensate for all that gold he's wearing"
Murdock pointed at the steering wheel and added matter of factly: "Hence the shimmyin'.."
"Ah..!" Face who had been concentrating on the roadmap finally understood what his friend was talking about and couldn't help but send Murdock a frustrated 'there-we-go-again-look.
Murdock who didn't notice (concentrating on the road) continued his quick babbling: "And I only hid one golden necklace in the van in case I would need some jewelry.
The pilot glanced at Face with a lopsided grin: "Don't tell B.A though!
I only nicked, er.. I mean, 'borrowed' it from him when he was polishing his collection, you know… It's the only time he takes them off, or when he takes a shower. (And I don't want to be anywhere near him when he takes a shower!) But I don't think this particular necklace has enough weight to compensate for the absence of the mighty Baraco-one".
Face was concentrating on the map again and only half-listening to Murdock's ramblings. He had gotten quite used to it by now.
During the years he'd learned to ignore the flood of words until they would fade away. Sometimes it was better to not talk back in case you triggered the rambling man into another flow of babbling. It could continue for a full hour or longer if he wasn't stopped. Most of the time B.A was the one who could get Murdock to shut up at some point.
"So will you do it?" Murdock urged again, glancing at the conman with an agitated expression on his face.
"Uh, Do what?" Face asked a little bewildered.
"Sit in the back seat behind me with the lamp?" Murdock insisted.
"Oh that..! Umm... no Murdock, ..No, I'm not going to do that," Face said, trying his best not to sound harsh. "I'm sure the van will be fine and I need to keep an eye on the road."
Murdock threw him an accusing dark stare.
"Really, Murdock!" Face snapped. "Besides, we're almost there. See?" He pointed at a sign that said: 'Joe's Antiques - right turn - 3 miles'.
Murdock gave it a few seconds of thought before giving in.
"Oh, I guess you're right, Faceman," he sighed, relaxing a little.
"Maybe I'm just fuzzin' too much. We're almost there and so far nothin' bad has happened".
"Good" Face said with relief, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Very good".
"Now take a turn right at the end of the road and you can deliver this puppy safe and sound to B.A".
Finally reaching their destination, Face pointed at another sign saying 'Delivery entrance only', leading them to the back of the building.
"Take that turn over there Murdock. Hannibal said it would be best for us to park the van out of sight"
Murdock did as he was instructed, relieved that he'd managed to deliver the vehicle spick and span.
Calmly turning the van around the corner his eyes suddenly widened. An old pick-up truck with a faded logo was speeding right at them! The truck was honking loudly as Murdock tried to avoid it by frantically turning the wheel to get them off the narrow one-way road.
Avoiding a frontal collision with only a few inches, the pick-up soared by with roaring engine. With shrieking brakes, the black van stopped on the grassy roadside in a cloud of dust. Murdock took a gulp of breath, realizing they'd just barely escaped a serious accident. His hands that were still clasping around the steering wheel showed white knuckles.

Behind them, the pick-up truck made a sharp turn and sped out of sight.
"Geez, What was that all about? Face panted, wiping sweat from his brow. Murdock had a disconcerted expression on his face.
"You okay buddy?" Face asked.
"Yeah..thinkso.." Murdock replied vaguely, while thinking fast.
Then he quickly started the motor of the van, put it in gear and hit the gas pedal hard. Face fell backward in his seat.
" I have a really bad feeling about this..." Murdock muttered while steering the van back onto the lane and speeding the last few yards towards the parking lot. All safety for their trusty ride was completely forgotten.
"Somethin's wrong, something's very wrong", was all the pilot could think.
With shrieking tires, Murdock stopped the van right in front of the back entrance. Half stumbling over his feet, he scrambled out and started running towards the building, yelling B.A's and Hannibal's name.
"Over here!" B.A's voice came from inside. Murdock immediately sped up another notch and ran towards B.A's voice with Face right on his heels.
When entering the building, the pilot suddenly stopped in track, trying hard to understand the scene in front of his eyes. The conman almost crashed right into him and stopped as well with shock plastered over his face.
A few yards away they saw B.A crouching over the colonel with concern in his eyes. The latter lay motionless on the ground with the pieces of a crashed table next to him. "No!" Murdock whispered looking horrified. His heart suddenly felt frozen. Running the last few yards and falling hard on his knees next to Hannibal's motionless body, Murdock stared down at his colonel's features while his heart was pounding in his throat.
He was just going to call out Hannibal's name when the colonel slowly opened his eyes. The man frowned slightly as his eyes needed some time to focus. Then a thin smile appeared on his face.

"Hello son", Hannibal croaked, while looking up at the captain. "How're things?"

Dave hurried from his office armed with a big first aid box and a bottle of water in his hands when he saw that the older man and the big guy were now accompanied by the other two team members.
"Is he conscious again?" He asked slightly out of breath while noting that the man with the pilot jacket was holding his (slightly protesting) commander in a tight embrace.
The white-haired man was still laying on the ground but tried to sit up. Dave heard a muffled "I'm-fwine-Muwdock-I'm-fwine!", from behind the crazy man's arms.

"Leave him alone fool, give 'im some air!", boomed the dark and rumbly voice of B.A.

Face, who'd sat down on his knees next to Hannibal (despite the risk of his suit pants getting smudged), noticed that B.A's tone of voice had been a bit softer than usual.
Murdock quickly released the colonel with flushed cheeks while muttering an embarrassed apology.
"Sorry, col'nel. I let myself go a little ..."
Face turned around and accepted the water and first aid kit from a concerned looking Dave.
"Thanks, Dave. It looks like our boss's gonna be fine." he said with great relief in his blue eyes.
"I am really happy to hear that", Dave said, taking some steps back to allow them space.
Murdock eyed Dave from the corner of his eyes and let out an audible snort. Dave glanced at the captain for a second but decided to ignore it.

Hannibal, who'd finally released himself from Murdock's embrace, slowly sat up while gingerly touching the bump on his head. Checking his gloved hand he'd noticed something sticky... Blood.. He felt dizzy and his body felt unusually stiff, but he knew he would live. B.A examined his commander sternly with a dark but worried frown on his brow.
"I'm fine." Hannibal reassured him "Just a bad headache and probably some bruises." He winced as he checked his arms and ribs for broken bones. He felt relieved not finding any, but there were bruises alright.
B.A dragged an old and faded Chesterfield armchair closer to the scene and helped Hannibal to sit down in it. He noted that the older man still felt a bit weak even though he was pretending to be fine. B.A figured his commander probably tried his best not to worry his men too much.
"Drink!" B.A commanded, giving Hannibal the opened bottle of water and some painkillers that Face handed him.
The corners of Hannibal's mouth twitched slightly as he obeyed his sergeant and took the pills.
"Yes sir", he mumbled before taking a mouth full of water and washing the pills away.
Face examined the wound on Hannibal's head. "It looks like it already stopped bleeding. All I see is a bad graze. It looks like you don't need any stitches, Hannibal. Though you could use an ice pack for the swelling."
"Lucky me.." Hannibal said grimly, grimacing slightly at the touch of Face hands. "I might need some for my ribs too. That table may not have been a dining table, but it could still have done its job properly and smash my brains right out of my skull. I was lucky that I heard the scream first."
Dave cleared his throat. "I am going to see if we have some ice packs available"
Murdock followed the young man with narrowed eyes, before turning to Hannibal again.
"Who screamed?" He asked.
Hannibal rubbed his forehead for a second, thinking hard. His train of thought was still a bit slow. Meanwhile, Face was carefully cleaning the wound on his head.
"I think it was the same guy we saw at the farmhouse earlier this afternoon." Hannibal sighed lowering his hand.
"It was that man I saw outside the fences of the farm today. I'm pretty sure of it. Then I saw him hiding here! He panicked and tried to run and I chased him before he hid in that loft and threw a table on top of me."
Hannibal looked confused for a moment.
"Or that's what I think he did.. but did he now..?" Hannibal's mind wandered off again.
Face closed the first aid kit.
"Well, that's all I can do for now. I think you should try and get some rest tonight colonel".

A telephone rang and Dave, who had returned to the office, stuck a head around the door.
"It's for you colonel. It's Joe", he said.
"No rest for the wicked", Hannibal said, smiling wryly at Face.
He carefully stood up from his chair and walked on slightly wobbly legs to the office, his men protectively accompanying him.

While they were waiting at the office door, B.A suddenly noticed Murdock's golden necklace and recognized it as his own.
"Hey fool! Where did ya get my necklace?!" He barked at the lanky man who jumped at least 10 inches before recovering.
"Er.. a vending machine?" Murdock tried innocently, swallowing hard.
Registering the angry snarl on B.A's face he winced and tried again. "Won it at the wheel of fortune?"
Seeing his enemy slowly advancing on him, he added "Er... found it in a cereal box?"
"Wrong answer" B.A growled, moving toward the pilot. "Give it back, it's mine!".
"Yes -yes of course it's yours" Murdock stammered with a meager smile while simultaneously expanding the distance between himself and the rising threat in front of him. He quickly took off the necklace and tossed it at B.A who furiously snapped it from the air. The gold-clad man stopped in track to examine the piece of jewelry for any damage. Finding none, he calmed down a bit and put it around his neck.
"Ehmm...I may need it back though," Murdock said bravely.
B.A's head snapped back up. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the pilot disbelievingly.
"What?!"
Face, who'd been watching the whole scene in slight amusement, facepalmed himself noticing B.A's temper rise again. Murdock seemed to be quite unaware this time.
"Well, it's quite handy to have a backup weight available in the van when you are not around to drive,". Murdock explained while shrugging.
"So I always keep some stuff hidden in the van, like that necklace of yours."
"You hidin' stuff in MY van?! " B.A barked, his voice rising in anger.
"Of course I do!", Murdock said, still not noticing the slightly expanding nostrils of his fuming opponent. "Why do you think we survive all our missions? That's because I 'always' have a secret weapon hidden in the van that can be of use."
The pilot started ticking off a list on his fingers: "I've got shoelaces, dog cookies, buckles, my collection of Pez dispensers, space hamsters... You know, stuff that can be useful. Someone's gotta do it!"

That was the last drop. B.A's temper hit cooking point as he launched at the pilot. Just in time, the crazy man leaped out of harm's way and started running.
"Eat heel dust, sucka!" he cackled as he dashed away with arms and legs pumping vigorously with the ill-tempered sergeant hot on his heels.
"Oh no, don't challenge him Murdock..." Face sighed, rubbing his temples wearily.
Hannibal who'd finally finished his phone call with Joe came out of the office to join the conman.
"What's this?" He asked, folding his arms and frowning at the scene in front of him.
"Oh you know... boys will be boys." Face said with a smirk on his face while watching a loudly cursing B.A chasing a high-pitched screaming pilot through the warehouse.

TBC