Duty Is Color Blind
AN: There is a Cathedral City, California, but the police there do not bear resemblance to the officers in this story. This is fiction, not reality.
Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.
Chapter 21 Collusion
A dark blue Lincoln Continental pulled up to the Tesoro de Mexicana Imports office. Four men got out.
"I was hoping the cops would show up before Whitman got here. Less chance of the cargo being found and hidden away." The Colonel frowned and glanced at his watch. "We called it in fifteen minutes ago."
"Maybe they're getting a search warrant?" Face offered.
From their observation post a block away, Hannibal watched as two of the men stationed themselves at the door of the office building. Each held a fully automatic Intratec TEC-9. The other two men stood beside the rear passenger's side door. Although Hannibal could not see their weapons under their jackets, the position of the strongmen's hands indicated they had guns concealed in shoulder holsters.
The driver exited and walked around to the rear passenger side door to open it. Whitman left the vehicle with a briefcase, and the three men formed a living shield as they escorted him into the office.
The Colonel narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Whitman's running scared to have that many men and that much firepower on hand for a business transaction. He must not know how many of us there are. Good."
"You aren't planning on going in there, are you, Hannibal?" Face leaned forward to get a better view of the office building and guards in front. The Colonel glanced at the lit cigar in his hand and grinned.
"He is, Faceman." B. A. shook his head, his frown expressing his disapproval.
"The last thing we need is for Whitman to find either the boxes we planted under the secretary's desk or the pinata in the file drawer. I'm going to distract him so the local constabulary finds the merchandise outside before Whitman or his boys find the stuff inside." There was a roguish gleam in Hannibal's eyes.
"What happens when the cops show up and you're still in there?" Face ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He thought back to a time when the Colonel, dressed as the Aquamaniac, dared Colonel Lynch to come get him. Sometimes his CO was too much of a risk taker for his own good.
Hannibal chuckled. "You worry too much, Lieutenant. You'll phone the office with a wrong number call to warn me when they arrive. I'll find a way to get out before they get in to see Whitman."
"If the plan comes together, you mean." Face gave B. A. an exasperated glance.
"Just be ready to move when you see me coming out of there." With that, Hannibal opened his door and walked across the street. He wanted to approach the building without letting the guards see he had come from the direction of the parked van.
"Don' like this one bit. Colonel's on the jazz for sure." B. A. stared sullenly as Hannibal ambled up and the guards shoved him through the door.
Several anxious minutes later, Face breathed a sigh of relief when a Cathedral City squad car pulled up beside the Lincoln Continental. He reached for the phone to call Whitman's office but stopped in mid-dial.
Two officers left the vehicle and walked up to the guards at the door. One of the guards offered a pack of cigarettes to an officer. He laughed, took one and handed the pack to his fellow officer.
"What is this, Faceman? Those guns ain't legal to carry on the street but the cops act like they don' even see 'em. It's like they all pals." B. A. scowled in confusion.
A second vehicle pulled up and its four occupants joined the men at the door.
The officers and four new men strolled to the back of Whitman's car and popped open the trunk. They did the same to the trunk of the newly arrived car. Smoking cigarettes and joking with each other, they disappeared around the side of the building only to reappear in the back. Each man took a box and carried it to the vehicles.
"Now I know somethin's not right. They're loadin' the shipment in the trunk of Whitman's car 'n' that other car."
"Which means we won't get help from the local constabulary," Face mused.
"Which means Hannibal's in trouble. They gonna know to look under the desk." B. A. groaned and slapped his hand on the dashboard.
"Hannibal never told the dispatcher about the pinata in the file drawer. We'll save that bit of information. It may be useful. The closest Drug Enforcement District office is in Riverside a little over an hour away. I can call and leave an anonymous message as soon as we know where they're taking the drugs." Face climbed into the front seat the Colonel usually occupied to get a better view. "There's Hannibal."
"He's got an escort."
The Colonel, hands cuffed in front of him, passed through the door. He was followed closely by an armed man. The officers and Whitman's remaining men entered the building and brought out the rest of the boxes.
As the last of the boxes was packed Whitman himself emerged and gestured for Hannibal to sit in the rear seat of the Lincoln with him. The three cars turned onto the street leading out of Cathedral City and toward Bart's Tours and Rentals.
"Follow them, B. A." Face gripped the phone in his hand, waiting to make the call to Riverside.