Chapter 21: Twisted fate
A couple of days later, after everyone had gone home, Murdock stood, rather apprehensively, in front of General Stockwell. He had been summoned to the study separately, without the knowledge of Hannibal or the rest of the team.
"Thank-you for coming, Captain," said the General.
"Like I had a choice," sneered back Murdock. Try as he might, he couldn't quite disguise his dislike for the man. "What this all about, General?"
"I'll get right to the point," said the General. "I have a proposition for you."
Murdock looked at Stockwell with a hint of mischief gleaming in his eyes.
"Sorry General, but I'm afraid I'm already taken," he replied, knowing his impertinence would annoy him.
General Stockwell gave him an icy glare, but managed to dismiss the remark with a forced grimace.
"I want you to undertake a covert mission," continued the General. "You and your crew will be there purely to provide air support as I have other operatives who will deploy the groundwork."
"Well I'm flattered that you've thought of little old me," said Murdock. "But as you know I have my own team thing going on. I couldn't possibly think of two-timing them."
"If you do this mission, Captain," replied the General. "I promise you that you will be a step nearer to getting your pardons."
"Why should I believe you?" snapped back Murdock impatiently. "You're going to have to give me more than that, Stockwell, if you seriously expect me to accept this mission."
"What if I told you there is a chance we could get our hands on Captain Joshua Curtis," answered the General.
Murdock looked at the General incredulously.
"That's not possible!" he retorted sharply. "He was killed in a car accident during the A-Team trial."
"I'm afraid that was just a big cover up," said the General. "The truth is he was snatched from his safe-house by the organisation that funded his gun-running activities. Someone was obviously very anxious to make sure he didn't testify at the trial."
Murdock shook his head in disbelief.
"No … no," he stammered. "I don't believe you."
"Did you ever wonder why Captain Curtis was so keen to avoid meeting me?" the General suddenly asked. "It was because I knew things about him – things that went right back to his days as a Captain during the Vietnam war. Colonel Morrison wasn't the only one who was a known NV Agent by the CIA. They were both part of the coup to rob the Hanoi Bank. Part of the deal they made with the Viet Cong was that the rest of the missing money was stolen by them to fund their gun-running and other mercenary activities – with Morrison and Curtis obviously getting their cut. We believe that it was actually Captain Curtis who double-crossed and killed Colonel Morrison – or at the very least he probably gave the order for his assassination."
Murdock took a few moments to digest this shocking information. He had to admit it did have an element of truth about it. There was no doubt that when they first picked up Curtis from the hijacked plane, he was very nervous to hear the General was hot on his trail.
"But why the elaborate ruse about the car accident?" asked Murdock.
"Well you understand it would be have been very embarrassing for the military and the CIA if it had transpired that a key witness had been snatched from their custody," replied the General. "This elite organisation have done a very good job of keeping him out of our clutches, but after months of undercover work, we have finally tracked him down."
"And you want me to go get him?" said Murdock, the penny finally dropping. "But why me, Stockwell? There must be any number of pilots out there who could fly this mission for you."
"Because sadly they haven't quite got your understanding and knowledge of the designated terrain," answered Stockwell.
"Where is the Captain hiding?" Murdock asked in a suspicious voice.
"He has been traced to a camp in the jungles of the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia," said the General. "He works in collaboration with the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces."
Murdock huffed in disgust.
"They're nothing more than a band of good-for-nothing, cut-throat warlords," he scoffed.
"They are also the second-largest guerrilla combat unit in south-east Asia," said the General. "Which is why I need my best operatives on the job. I need a hot-shot pilot to put my men as near to the camp as possible. And as I seem to remember, Captain, your knowledge of the Asian landscape was second to none."
"That was over 15 years ago!" exclaimed Murdock.
"Maybe so," replied the General. "But with your photographic memory and with as near-accurate co-ordinates as we can obtain, I'm sure it will all come back to you."
"Well maybe I don't wanna remember," said Murdock sullenly, his heart plunging deep into his black converse sneakers.
The General looked at Murdock and for a split second, Murdock thought he saw a look of sympathy in his eyes. However, his icy glare soon returned as he continued.
"I understand your fears, Captain," he said, but his voice was still cold and unfeeling. "But this will simply be an insertion operation. The ground troops will take care of infiltration of the camp and the capture of Captain Curtis."
"How can you be sure your intelligence is reliable?" asked Murdock.
"We have been working closely with Ramon Soulay – the man who was travelling with the Captain on the hijacked plane," replied the General. "He has been very co-operative in informing us all about the captain's dealings and associates."
"But Soulay told us he had killed Curtis," said Murdock shaking his head in confusion, remembering back to Soulay's confession when they had caught up with him whilst he was in the middle of his gun-smuggling deal.
"Another cover-up I'm afraid," said Stockwell. "I needed to get Soulay on my side and Colonel Smith very kindly did the honours for me by going after him. I am guessing Soulay would have admitted to anything at that point once he knew his number was up."
Murdock's head was spinning with all of this information. He still didn't know if he trusted the General. Everything he did seemed so calculated and premeditated. But if what Stockwell said was true, then Captain Curtis, without a doubt, could clear the A-Team from all their charges. The team had upheld their side of the deal by executing Stockwell so-called missions, so if he kept his word, they would get their pardons.
"Why couldn't you have told us all this right from the beginning?" questioned Murdock.
"We had Captain Curtis under surveillance when he left Spain," answered the General. "If the plane hadn't been hijacked we would have picked him up as planned and the A-Team's involvement would not have been necessary at this point of the proceedings. And as much as I have great confidence in your piloting skills, Captain, it was evident that it was Colonel Smith who ran the show. I needed him to formulate the plan to get on board the plane and bring Curtis and Soulay out unharmed."
"I can't believe you would have done all this just to clear our names," said Murdock, still finding it difficult to work out if Stockwell was the good or bad guy in all of this.
"Oh, I had my own reasons for wanting Curtis that would have looked very good on my record," Stockwell replied smugly.
"So why did Curtis lie at that trial?" asked Murdock.
"I'm afraid it appeared Curtis was more scared of the KPMLAF than he was of us," replied Stockwell. "The deal with Colonel Smith was to get Curtis' testimony to clear the team's names in exchange for you carrying out certain missions my way. Unfortunately, it all went wrong when Curtis lied on the stand and was then declared killed in a car accident. And what with the A-Team's admission that they murdered Colonel Morrison – well, I had to drastically re-arrange the plan in order to save them all from the firing squad and then keep them out of the way of the Military."
"Is this why you allowed me to come to Langley?" asked Murdock, realising for the first time that it was probably no coincidence that the General had allowed Amy Allen to help him find the A-Team when they left Los Angeles.
"I knew wherever the A-Team went you would be sure to follow," said the General. "All I had to do was keep you sweet until I needed you to fly the mission. I have complete faith that you are the best pilot for the job – just as I did when I recommended you to join the CIA back in 1967."
Murdock looked at Stockwell in pure astonishment. He didn't know whether to feel flattered or resentful. All he knew was that his brain was going into overload!
"You … you …" he stammered, unable to find the words. "You were involved in Operation Phoenix?"
Stockwell nodded grimly. "I had followed your career in the Thunderbirds and there was no doubt that you had the skills and knowledge we needed to make the Operation a success. I had high hopes for you as a CIA Agent, Captain. It was just such a shame that you developed a conscious – it was your downfall in the end."
Murdock was too shocked to answer the General. He just stared at him, a glazed look fogging his dark brown eyes. Stockwell was aware that he was losing Murdock and quickly continued before the pilot switched off completely.
"That's why I know you will do this mission, Captain," he said insistently. "You're loyalty to the A-Team has always impressed me and I am sure you won't let them down now."
The General's words somehow cut through Murdock's confused mind, bringing him back to reality again.
"Why can't the A-Team be part of the mission?" he asked finally.
"Like I said, we have been working on this now for quite some time with our best operatives in the field," replied Stockwell. "The A-Team's participation was not necessary – I had other missions more suited to their unconventional methods. "Besides," he added, rather nervously. "I may need them as back-up."
"Just in case something goes wrong with the simple insertion exercise, right?" remarked Murdock, feeling rather like a rabbit who was about to get caught in the headlights.
Stockwell didn't reply, his stern and uncompromising stance telling Murdock all he needed to know.
"When?" asked Murdock, his voice flat and monotonous.
"Tomorrow evening," replied the General. "Your crew are already waiting. Abel 3 will arrive later this morning to take you to your destination so you will have some time to familiarise yourself with the necessary co-ordinations and flight plan before the mission."
Murdock nodded in recognition of his orders and got up to leave the room. The general got up with him issuing his final instructions.
"It goes without saying Captain Murdock, that everything we have discussed here will remain confidential until after the mission is completed. We can't afford to let anyone not involved in the operation to get wind of what we are doing."
"Nice to know you have trust in your own organisation," replied Murdock, sarcastically.
The General smiled wistfully before adding, "Good luck, Captain," as Murdock trudged out of the room.