A/N: Murdock's thoughts are in italics. *The voices in Murdock's head are shown with asterisks.*
Murdock had almost made it to the van by himself. He wanted to so badly to prove that he was strong enough for the trip. Dressed in his khakis, t-shirt, leather jacket, converse, and baseball hat, he started across the yard. He made it to the edge of the drive, then his legs gave way. BA helped him the few remaining feet.
With Face's help, Murdock managed to get in the back seat and curl up with a pillow and blanket.
*Big baby. Need someone to tuck you in?*
'He's just being nice. My Face would have done that for me.'
*Too bad your Face isn't here.*
BA, Face, and Hannibal were getting in their seats. Murdock could hear Richter standing beside the van, giving instructions to Hannibal.
Lighting his cigar, Hannibal assured Richter again and again that Murdock would be fine.
BA finally yelled "That's 'nough, fool!" and drove off.
Even with his eyes closed, Murdock could tell that the three of them kept looking back to check on him. He sighed. His team would have been doing that, too.
'Maybe it really is my team.'
*Are you willing to take that chance? What if they just want you to talk?*
'No, I won't talk. I won't betray my team!'
~~AT~~AT~~AT~~AT~~
Henry walked back to his car, his face red from having just cussed out the station attendant. When he asked for his windshield to be cleaned, the nervous, young attendant had grabbed the wrong bottle, spraying degreaser on the window instead of washing fluid. Henry had to wait for the boy to clean it up, making him late for a meeting with Decker. It had been three days since Murdock had disappeared and there hadn't been any sign of him. Needless to say, Decker was not happy.
As Henry pulled out of the gas station, he happened to glance in his mirror and see a black van. He knew that van! He had seen a picture of it in the files from Decker. It was the A-Team's van! He had to follow it!
He pulled off into a parking lot, letting the van go past, then pulled back onto the road behind the van. Forget Decker's meeting, he was going to find out what the A-Team was up to.
~~AT~~AT~~AT~~AT~~
BA had been driving for almost five hours. Murdock had been sound asleep pretty much the whole time, Face and Hannibal kept dozing off, too.
BA pulled in at the next gas station. As BA reached over to wake up Hannibal, he noticed another car pull in the station.
Hannibal yawned and told a still half asleep Face to wake Murdock. Hannibal got out of the van and stretched, while BA filled the tank.
In the back of the van, Murdock gave a huge yawn and rubbed his eyes.
"Come on, buddy. Let's go stretch those legs." Face helped him to the sliding door.
Face started to open the door when Murdock gasped and grabbed Face's arm.
"What?"
Murdock pointed out the front window. All Face could see was a man in a car.
"What is it, Murdock? Murdock!"
Murdock's eyes rolled back and he sank to the floor, his whole body trembling.
"Hannibal! BA! Get in here!"
BA threw the sliding door open, Hannibal right behind him. "What's wrong with 'im?"
"I don't know. He pointed to that man in the car over there, then this happened."
Hannibal glanced at the man in the car. "Get in, BA. We've got to get out of here."
"What's wrong, Hannibal?"
"That man over there fits the description Richter gave me of Henry. He's tailing us."
~~AT~~AT~~AT~~AT~~
Henry watched the white haired man and the big black man get in the van and drive off. He knew from the descriptions in Decker's file that they were Smith and Baracus. He hadn't seen Peck, but he could have been in the back. Possibly with Murdock?
Henry let them drive aways before following.
~~AT~~AT~~AT~~AT~~
Face and Hannibal had gotten Murdock back in the back seat. Face was now sitting with Murdock's head on his lap. Hannibal had went back to his seat up front, leaving Face with orders to alert them as soon as Murdock came to.
There wasn't any need for an alert. When the pilot woke, he began crying, clinging to Face. Hannibal watched him sadly. The shaking was back to being only in his hands, but the fear was still very much there. Hannibal wished he had been paying closer attention to the other cars at the station. Maybe he could have prevented this.
BA tried to keep an eye on Murdock without looking like he was keeping an eye on Murdock. He also kept an eye on the road behind them, trying to see if Henry was still following them. Murdock may get on his nerves, but he wasn't going to let anyone hurt the little guy.
~~AT~~AT~~AT~~AT~~
Henry tried his best to stay back. He hadn't tailed anybody in a long time, and he was a tad rusty. But, he wanted the A-Team. That would definitely get him a pardon. And he would do whatever was necessary to catch them.
One thing he knew for certain, if patience is a virtue, then he was going to be the most virtuous man alive!