36 Emergency
Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.
In and out of consciousness, heart-rending groans one minute, shallow, almost non-existent breathing the next. Hannibal wasn't sure which was best for Murdock at the present time. The half hour drive to the Modoc Medical Center emergency room seemed to last forever.
The van's wheels jolted over another pothole. Murdock roused from his restless semi-conscious state with a soft moan and forced his eyes open. He raised his hand to blindly feel around in the dimly lit interior for something.
"B . . . Billy?"
The Colonel hissed an anxious "Watch it, B. A.!" before placing his hands on the injured man's shoulders to keep him from moving and making the gunshot wound bleed any more than it was. "Billy's laying at your feet, Captain. He hasn't left."
The reassurance seemed to ease Murdock's mind. His hand fell back to his side and he murmured, "G . . .good" but he continued to stare with glazed eyes up at Hannibal.
"Sorry, Hannibal. Didn't see that one." B. A. cast a concerned glance back at the Colonel. "We almost there. See?" He pointed to a road sign indicating Alturas was three miles away.
"Han . . . bal. Soon's . . . B. . . . A.'s ready . . . " Murdock swallowed heavily and closed his eyes briefly, " . . . we gotta . . . go . . . Face . . . Mel . . . needs . . . "
"I know, son, I know." He hadn't missed the 'we' part of that statement.
I almost hope he's unconscious when I leave B. A. and him at the emergency room.
He didn't hear the quiet addition to Murdock's rambling. "Wh . . . what's th' . . . plan . . . C . . . Colonel?"
B. A. did. He snorted and shook his head.
Murdock heard the sound. He frowned, then clutched at Hannibal's sleeve as realization set in.
"N . . . no! Ya can't . . . Han . . . bal! I gotta . . . go with . . . "
B. A. turned a sharp corner and parked outside the emergency entrance. Turning off the engine but leaving the key in the ignition, he hurried to the side door and opened it.
"You know the story you need to tell them, Sergeant?" Looking up at B. A., the Colonel gripped Murdock's hand in his as he spoke.
B. A. scowled down at the pain-filled face of the pilot, then met Hannibal's gaze.
He nodded sullenly. "S' long as I got those fake IDs Face made up for us . . . "
The Colonel was aware the pilot was shivering and holding onto his hand with all of his strength.
"Han . . . bal . . . " he gasped out.
"Go, B. A. Get a medic out here." For a moment the Colonel was back in Nam beside Murdock as he awoke at Camp Evans after surgery on his knee.
We almost lost him then, too. Deja vu really stinks.
"C . . . Colonel . . . sir . . . take . . . me with . . . " Murdock's voice was higher pitched, more desperate, but at the same time, weaker than it had been before.
I can't, son. I can't.
A flurry of activity accompanied B. A.'s reappearance at the side door. Two white-coated orderlies wheeled a gurney close to the van while a nurse climbed partly in beside the pilot to assess his condition. She gave Hannibal a somber once-over before giving the orderlies the go-ahead to move the injured man.
Seeing it, Murdock increased the pressure on the Colonel's hand and tried to sit up. A half-choking sob came from his throat as Hannibal pulled away from his grip and the orderlies transferred him to the stretcher.
"Han'bal!" The older man felt an iron band constrict his heart as the medical team hurried their protesting patient through the doors of the emergency. He knew Murdock's feeble cries would haunt him if anything happened to either him or Face.
Hannibal made sure no one was watching and dragged Scott out of the back seat of the van. Pushing the stalker into the front passenger's seat and buckling him in, Hannibal gave last-minute instructions to B. A.
"I replaced Murdock's ID in his wallet already so no one should be the wiser. His name is Henry Merchand. There's going to be plenty of questions about that gunshot wound."
"An' I tell 'em we was up here at a cabin lookin' ta do some target practice in the mornin' an' one of the guns we thought was unloaded went off." B. A. sounded impatient and peered over his shoulder at the doors through which they had taken the injured pilot.
He wants to be there with him just as much as I do.
"If anything starts looking suspicious, get out of there. I just want him to know we haven't abandoned him. Call the van phone when you know anything about his condition." Hannibal gazed in the same direction as B. A., then nodded for him to go.
"I ain' gonna leave the crazy man ta face all the questions alone. He's in good hands, Hannibal." B. A. gave the older man one more reassurance before leaving.
As he swung himself into the driver's seat of the van, the Colonel set his mouth in a grim line. "Now take me to your leader, kid." He started the van and put it into 'Drive' before adding, "And start hoping your boss hasn't killed either of them."