Monster

Disclaimer: I do not own The A-Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A-Team.

Chapter 11

Hearing Stein's voice so close to him, Murdock intensified his efforts to override the sedatives in his system. In the next moment, a large wad of cloth stuffed roughly in his mouth stifled his screams for help.

He felt Stein shove the sleeve of his flannel shirt up, exposing his forearm. Whimpering out a protest over the gag, he knew what was going to happen and also knew he was unable to prevent it. He couldn't even open his eyes.

"I'm not going to give you enough to kill you . . . " the orderly muttered. "Only enough to make you stop yelling." There was a pause before he added, "No one will question why I had to give you something to calm you down."

The needle pierced Murdock's vein and discharged its dose into his bloodstream. Within a minute, his muscles involuntarily relaxed and his mind went fuzzy.

He vaguely heard Stein as he described how the pilot was going to die. "It has to look like a suicide. No one will blame me if I didn't find the knife you had hidden in your mattress. If only I had known, you wouldn't have done this . . . "

In his drug-induced stupor, he wanted to struggle but couldn't make the connection between his brain and muscles. Stein thrust the butter knife into the soft tissue of Murdock's upper abdomen with such force, the Captain's body convulsed once violently, then was still. Despite the sedatives and gag, Murdock moaned.

"The only thing cutting your wrists would do is to sever your tendons. You wouldn't bleed enough to die. This is more certain. Don't worry. You won't suffer alone. I'll stay until you fall asleep," the monster crooned, close enough to the pilot's ear to cut through his clouded senses.

Murdock didn't know what was worse: to die or to have 'Frankie' the monster stay to watch.

"You really shouldn't have said anything to that reporter, you know. She'll have to be next. Then I'll take your friends' advice and leave California."

At that, Murdock tried desperately once again to tell his muscles to move but they remained motionless. He had to warn Amy . . . protect her . . .

He got only a soft gasp out, one easily quieted by the gag. He realized in dismay he had lost control over his vocal cords. Stein smiled with satisfaction.

"Speechless? That's too bad. Where's your friends now?" the orderly sneered as he removed the gag and curled both of the pilot's hands around the hilt of the knife. "Like I said, it has to look like you did it to yourself."

Then he washed his hands at the sink, moved a few feet away out of reach, sitting on the bed, and waited for Murdock to slip into unconsciousness.

oooooo

Amy sat in her car, staring at the hospital and building up her courage. The black station wagon was parked on the other side of the lot. She knew she should wait for the rest of the team to back her up but if she did . . .

Stein will hurt or kill Murdock. And none of the staff will see it happen, I'm sure of that.

She made up her mind, swallowed her fear and left her car.

oooooo

Nurse Sharon left one room, its inhabitant quiet now, and moved to the next. She didn't hear any loud wailing coming from the Captain's room and sighed in relief. Stein wasn't her favorite orderly to help her settle the patients down but in this case, with a whole ward of terrified, screaming patients, she was glad for his help.

She knew Stein was on duty the night Captain Murdock got his black eye. He admitted to dislocating the Captain's shoulder but claimed it was only an accident. For that reason, she was suspicious of his methods. She resolved to check in on the patient as soon as the ward was quiet.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open with a whoosh. Glancing over her shoulder, Sharon frowned at the woman walking quickly toward her.

She waited impatiently, knowing if she left even one patient in a state of distress, the symphony of wails and screams could increase in volume again.

"I need to see Captain Murdock," the young woman demanded, her expression grim.

"Now is not a good time. We have a bit of an emergency going on, if you hadn't noticed." She gestured at the rooms around her, hoping the woman would get the hint and leave. Surely the intruder wasn't deaf, was she?

Sharon turned to attend to the patient in the next room and immediately felt the unwelcome visitor grip her elbow to stop her.

"My name is Amy Allen and I need to see Captain Murdock right now! I'm his friend." she insisted.

"You can't, Miss Allen. He's the one who started all of this with his screams. We just got him settled down. Now we have to help the rest."

"Then tell me if Victor Stein is here."

At the mention of the name, the nurse stopped walking and turned. The intense look on Amy's face reactivated the suspicions Sharon had been mulling over the past hour.

"Yes . . . he came back after his shift ended. I assumed he forgot something and returned to get it." She took a steadying breath. "Why do you ask?" The uneasy feeling in her gut intensified.

"He's not with Captain Murdock, is he?" Amy paled as she said it and her gaze shifted to the door to the pilot's room.

"He saw we needed help. He volunteered to calm Mister Murdock down." Sharon glanced at the Captain's door. "I don't hear anything. He must have succeeded."

She noted Amy's desperation grow visibly. "You have to let me see him. Please . . . " The young woman tightened her grip around Sharon's elbow.

"I have a few more patients to tend to. Then we can check on him together. But you can't stay for more than a minute. That's the best I can do for you, Miss Allen." She moved to the next patient's door and saw Amy hurry toward Rick the night orderly who had just left a room close by. As she listened, the woman frantically restated her request to the orderly.

Amy's panic had its effect on Sharon. Just as the nurse decided to check in on Murdock next, Stein came out of the room. He nodded at her as he gently closed the door behind him.

"He's close to falling asleep. I had to give him a little more haloperidol. You should have no more trouble from him tonight." The orderly peered past her at the woman begging Rick for access to Mister Murdock. Scowling, Stein turned his back on her and quickly made his way toward the elevator.

"You had no authorization to give the patient more sedatives," Sharon protested. She thought about stopping Stein and giving him a stern reprimand. Something didn't seem right about the lack of any noise coming from the veteran pilot's room and Stein's hurried departure from the ward.

"He's quiet now, isn't he? You can thank me later." With that, Stein punched the elevator button and slipped through the doors as soon as they opened. The last Sharon saw of Stein was a fierce glare in the direction of the visitor.

Rick was already inserting his key in the patient's door lock when Sharon turned toward Murdock's room. The woman was right behind him, pushed past him as soon as the door was open.

Seconds later, she heard Amy cry out. "Someone get a doctor!"