Title: Deception 7/9
Author: Murdock's Crazylady
Rated: PG-15, for violence to a child
Summary: Alex and the guys are back home, and Alex is re-cooperating from her
little war, the guys are kidnaped and the Borneo mission begins
Archive: YES! PLEASE!
Warning: none, unless my intermittent memory loss is back and I forgot something
Disclaimer: I don't own the team. Not that I wouldn't mind having Dwight for a
big brother though
Copyright: 2000 Murdock's CrazyLady (MCL)
Author's notes : In this and almost all other chapters there will be violence.
Consider yourself warned. I don't want to get flamed for not warning you. It's not
like it's graphic, but it's violent. Expect a lot more from this, especially a twist,
this is my first FanFic, so please don't be too hard on me!
Special thanks to Kelly for beta reading Deception for me.
(Alex's thoughts are inside these.)
Deception
Part 7
"B.A., get the door." Hannibal said after hearing the doorbell ring. B.A. was sitting at the kitchen table, working on a little motor when Hannibal told him to get up and get the door. He got up and went through the house, wishing Face would get a butler or something. "Man, what am I, the doorman?" B.A. grumbled to himself as he got to the front door. He opened the door and couldn't believe who was standing on their doorstep. It was Colonel Lynch, and 3 armed guards. "Back inside, Baracus, Make like everything's normal. Get Peck and Smith down here." Lynch said as he backed B.A. back inside. He pointed his 9MM into B.A.'s chest and B.A. nodded okay. He had to think, he had to remember the code to let Hannibal know Lynch was here. He thought a second...now he remembered!
"Hey Hannibal! Face! Pizza's here, c'mon Face, it's your turn ta pay!" B.A. yelled and both men knew instantly what B.A. had just really said. They both instantly stopped what they were doing and in separate rooms, they both said the same thing, at the same time. "Lynch!" Lynch is a good friend of Colonel Decker, and he'd been helping him to watch them ever since Alex was a baby. He had been watching them even closer since hearing the rumor of Alex getting shot. Face and Hannibal came downstairs and into the front room. Face saw Lynch and smiled. "Where's the pizza? Oh don't tell me you got hungry on the way over, and it better not have anchovies. I hate anchovies." Face said and Hannibal nudged his shoulder. Face took it as a warning to be quiet and he shut-up.
"Shut-up Peck. Move. Into the next room." Lynch said pushing B.A. to follow Hannibal and Face into the kitchen. Hannibal let Lynch have his fun now and followed the order quietly. The guards followed, and the guys sat down at the kitchen table. The guards and Lynch stood around them, with their guns ready to shoot the first member to make a run for it. "If you wanted to come for a visit Lynch, you should have called, and we would have made tea." Hannibal said smiling his cocky smile up at Lynch. Lynch frowned and ignored the smart remark. "We have a mission you are going to go on." Lynch said looking at each one of them. B.A. growled, nobody told him what to do, especially this sucka. "And if we refuse?" Face asked, not liking the sound of this so-called mission.
"Then you go to trial and get put in front of a firing squad." Lynch replied and Face got goose-bumps. Lynch smiled. He had them, he had captured the A-team. "Now. You are going to Borneo to rescue General Ludlum and his daughter, Kathy, whom are being held prisoner by this man, Rasham." Lynch said pushing a photo over to Hannibal across the table. Hannibal picked it up and looked at it. He felt like he was looking at Hitler, he could see how evil the man was just from the photo. He passed it to Face, and Face looked at it, then he passed it on to B.A. B.A. looked at the picture and remembered an incident in Nam with the very man they were going to rescue. "I ain't goin after nobody that calls B.A. Baracus a liar. Said I dinnit salute him. Put me in the hole." B.A. said getting angry at the memory. Hannibal put his hand on the big man's shoulder, in an attempt to calm him down. "Yeah, put him in jail for just punchin him in the nose." Hannibal said, he also remembered it from the second he heard Ludlum's name. He thought B.A. would go off at the first time he heard it, but when he didn't, he thought B.A. had forgotten. His sergeant changed his mind now as he growled and vowed he was not going to rescue somebody who called him a liar.
Hannibal stood up and began telling them a list of supplies they would need, including guns, ammo, grenades, and milk. The guard took it all down and soon heard why Hannibal wanted milk. He nodded and added sedatives to the list. "I ain't flyin Hannibal! No planes! I go by boat or I don't go at all. No boat no B.A. I mean it Hannibal!" B.A. yelled at the Colonel. Hannibal nodded okay, and seconds later, the guard returned with 3 glasses of milk. He pointed out the one with the sedatives in it and Hannibal made sure it was given to B.A. Face sat on the top of the kitchen table and drank his milk, trying to get B.A. to do the same.
"Ah, you know, there's nothing like a nice cold glass a milk ta make a guy forget that he's going on a suicide mission, a real suicide mission." Face said looking at his glass. B.A. was deep in thought with his head leaning on his fist. He didn't hear Face. Hannibal snapped his fingers at B.A.'s nose and B.A. focused on him. "B.A., drink your milk." Hannibal said and B.A. looked like a sulky child back at Hannibal. "I don't wanna drink my milk." he replied and Hannibal swallowed a drink of his. "B.A., you love milk. Besides, you should drink up, once you're in prison this will be the last thing you drink that's not powdered for 30 years." Hannibal said and B.A. finally picked his glass up and swallowed half of it in one gulp. Face looked at Hannibal as he drank more of his own milk. B.A. put his glass down and was going to go back into thought until Face pointed at his and said, "You've got a milk moustache B.A." and B.A. slapped his hand away. Then he wiped the milk off and went back into thought. "How we gettin into Borneo, Hannibal?" B.A. asked and before Hannibal could answer, B.A. hit the table asleep. "By plane." Face and Hannibal finally answered the snoring B.A.
The sound of thundering hooves only meant one thing. "Alex, slow down!" Murdock yelled as Waco galloped to meet her. "That's cheating daddy!" Alex yelled back as Waco passed her. Murdock smiled at her and then he noticed the tan car in the driveway. He stopped behind the huge bush at the end of the yard and saw A bigger car was behind it, and he had never seen them before. Alex caught up to him and slowed Lil'T to a stop and held him steady beside Murdock and Waco. They watched the house and the front door opened. Hannibal came out carrying B.A. over his shoulders and Murdock didn't like it.
Face followed Hannibal, and behind him, were the 4 armed guards, holding there guns on Face as he was loaded like a cow into the bigger car. Alex saw this and got scared. "Daddy, where are they takin them? What's goin on?" Alex asked in a whisper. "Hannibal was carryin B.A. which means that wherever they're goin they're goin by air." Murdock answered. "What's goin on?" Alex asked again. "I don't know muchacha, but if I don't stay on their tail, I'm never gonna find out." Murdock said as he got down from Waco and helped Alex down from Lil'T and he tied their reins to the bush. Then he grabbed Alex's hand and ran with her to B.A.'s van. They got in and Murdock looked down the ignition, thank god, B.A. had accidentally left his keys. Alex put her seatbelt on as she sat in the passenger side seat and Murdock started the engine, and tore off, throwing stones into the air as he sped down the drive like a crazed person on drugs. He wasn't on drugs, but he was after the car that had just kidnaped his family.
As he sat in the back of the car, Hannibal couldn't believe he agreed to this suicide mission. He looked over at a sleeping B.A. and hoped he wouldn't kill him when he woke up. Face, on the other side of B.A., didn't say anything out loud, but Hannibal knew he was thinking the exact same thing, just by the look on his face. The drive to the airport seemed never ending to the team, and once they had reached it, they were prodded out of the back seat like cattle, with Hannibal carrying B.A. over his shoulders again. They were all unaware of the red and black GMC van that had followed them and was right behind them even now, watching them.
"Whatta we gonna do daddy?" Alex asked as Murdock hid the van out of sight. "We gotta stay with our unit." Murdock answered as he got out of the van. Alex followed, not sure how they were going to stay with their unit if they were getting on a plane. "How are ya gonna do that? They're gettin on a plane." Alex ran up beside Murdock and asked. "Well, so am I." Murdock answered. "Whatta you gonna do?" Alex asked as he stopped her from following him. She stopped at the hand on her shoulder and watched him dumb founded, as he went around a jet and found the pilot. He had just gotten his orders to take off and follow the plane with the prisoners when Murdock decked him and knocked him out. He took the pilot's coveralls and put them on, and he took his helmet as well. Then he came back around the plane to hear Alex whispering in a yell for him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Alex in a whisper yelled. Murdock came around the jet. "Yeah!" he said and Alex came over to him. She noticed he was wearing coveralls like her uncle B.A. wore a lot and looked at him funny. She had seen the pilot go behind his plane, and wondered what had happened to him and why her daddy was now wearing his clothes. "Daddy, where's the pilot?" Alex asked as she followed HM to the stairs of the jet. "Well, it was kinda strange, I was just standin there talkin to em an all of the sudden he fell into my arms." Murdock replied. Alex raised her eyebrow at him. "Daddy, you knocked him out." Alex said and Murdock looked at her. "Aw, let's not get technical." Murdock replied, hearing the engines of the plane start. "We gotta stay on those guys." HM said as he climbed into the jet's door holding his jacket and the helmet. He quickly grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her in behind him, closing and latching the door after her.
Murdock sat Alex in the co-pilot's seat and he sat in the pilot's seat. He buckled the harness seatbelt and began flipping switches and reading odometers as he read off a check list from his memory. "Alex, belt in. Put the helmet on." Murdock said as he started the jet's engines. They came on with a roar as Alex did as she was told. "Aye aye captain!" Alex said as Murdock watched the other plane as it taxied down the runway. It took off seconds later. Murdock told Alex to hold on as he started down the runway. Alex held on as they taxied and then took off. a few seconds after the jet was up in the air, the landing gear went back up inside of the plane. Murdock did another check from his memorized check list once they were up in the air before he sighed and relaxed.
Alex remained quiet. She knew this was an important mission and she didn't want to bother her father with any stupid jibba-jabba. She laughed silently as she remembered that was B.A.'s way of saying someone talked too much. Alex, wearing the pilot helmet that drowned her head and kept slipping over her eyes, pushed it back into place and revealed her concentration. It was written all over her face. It was the same look she put on before a fight, minus the usual angry tint in her eyes.
They had been flying for over 4 hours when Murdock's eyes told him something as they flew over an ocean. They had nowhere to land! "There's no landing strip.." Murdock silently said to himself as he looked out of the window at the plane in front of them. Minutes later, The guys began jumping from the plane! Alex saw as well as Hannibal and Face pushed a sleeping B.A. out of the plane. Alex almost got up to run and help him until she saw his parachute open. Murdock watched as Hannibal jumped, and knew his thoughts about where they were going had been right. Borneo. He also knew that they had to jump too, if they were to remain with the unit. Face jumped from the plane after Hannibal and Alex's face turned white. Seconds after Face jumped, a crate full of the supplies Hannibal had requested was pushed out as well.
"What in the world is goin on daddy?" Alex asked as she watched in horror as her family dived from the plane in front of her very eyes. "Well if I knew that I could run for office. We gonna have ta ditch this plane an go in for em. C'Mon muchacha." Murdock said as he pulled off his seatbelt. He flipped the auto pilot on and got up. He He unfastened Alex's harness belt with a quick flick of his wrist, while Alex had been fumbling nervously with it. He grabbed her out of the seat and carried her to the back of the jet with him.
"Daddy, goin? How? Where?" Alex asked as he sat her down and got out the parachutes. "The plane is going into the ocean and we're going into the jungle. Dive! Dive! Dive! Arrrrruuuuga! Arrrrrruuuuggggaaaa!" Murdock answered as he put a chute on Alex. While he did, he told her how to and when to pull the cord to open the parachute. He also told her not to be afraid, and she nodded as she watched him quickly put his parachute on. Murdock opened the door and Alex looked out. "Don't look down, muchacha." Murdock said yelling over the roar over the engine and the wind. Alex nodded okay even though she was scared. "Promise you'll find me down there, daddy, promise, or I'll be scared!" Alex yelled and Murdock smiled.
"I promise! Now, Go!" He yelled back giving her a small push toward the door. Alex walked forward and swallowed. She tried to tell herself it wouldn't be any different than when she jumped from her tree house. Murdock saw her freeze and pushed her out the door. She screamed but only in fright for a second. She then stopped and opened her eyes. She loved it! The world spinning around her, the wind blowing her around and pressing against her body.
She felt like a feather and she wasn't afraid at all. In fact, she never wanted to land! Murdock had jumped a second after her, and she could now hear him singing in Swedish as he floated. Alex looked towards him and laughed. He smiled and continued singing. She gave him a thumbs up and he gave it back. Afterwards, she let the feeling of freedom and no fear take over as they both continued to plummet towards the ground.
Meanwhile on the ground, Face had the wondrous order to find B.A. and take his chute off before he woke up. Face was knelt over B.A. as he began to wake up. Hannibal came over and with a look around, he began to whisper. "Ah, great. Colonel, he's waking up." Face said as Hannibal told him to keep his voice down because they could be surrounded by guerillas. "Tell him that." Face replied as B.A. woke up. "What happened? Where are we? How'd we get here?" B.A. growled, looking at Face. No answer made B.A. grab Face's shirt and try to strangle him. Hannibal almost let it go, but he knew they'd get caught if he didn't postpone Face's funeral. "B.A., hold it, and that's an order, sergeant!" Hannibal ordered and B.A. let go of Face.
Face landed on his butt, and caught his breath. Hannibal handed Face an AK47 and Face passed it to the growling sergeant. B.A. took it as Cannibal gave Face a gun for himself. B.A. glared at Face. He was tired of waking up in foreign countries with a bad headache and there always being a plane nearby. Cannibal waved them to follow him and Face followed. B.A. took the rear, and stayed low. He was ready to fire at the second he heard Cannibal's order. He still didn't know how he got into this jungle from Arizona, but he told himself that Face drugged his milk again, he'd be in serious pain later.
"Daddy! Daddy! Get me down!" Alex yelled as she swung in her chute harness from a tall tree. She looked down and was terrified to know she was dangling at least 20 feet off of the ground. Murdock had landed in a tree as well, but he had years of experience, and he knew how to get down without breaking both of his legs. He finally got out down far enough from the tree to be able to jump, and he did, landing on his feet. He knew himself that they could be surrounded by Borneo bad guys and he had to get to Alex and quiet her before they heard her screams.
He picked up a backpack he'd had on under the chute and ran to find Alex. He ran carefully, as quiet as a deer. He found Alex in the tree minutes later. Alex didn't see him and she continued to yell for him. Murdock didn't waste any time. He ran over to the tree and began climbing. He was great at climbing anything, he always had been. He finally got close enough to Alex and said, "Alex, daddy's here. Murdock's here. Stop yelling little muchacha, or we'll be caught by Borneo bad guys." Murdock was relieved to see Alex nod and stop yelling. She was still whining, the thought of falling straight down from that high scared her. Murdock climbed closer to Alex and she could see him. He smiled and saw the fear in her brown eyes. "I'm scared." She silently mouthed at him and he nodded. "I'll get you down. Don't worry muchacha." Murdock mouthed back. She looked down and her whole body shook in fear.
Murdock pulled himself up and around the thick branch that held Alex and sat above her. He took his backpack off and opened it, pulling out a rope. He tied it to the tree branch above him in a tight knot and tossed it down, making sure it didn't hit Alex on it's way past her head. "Okay muchacha. Grab the rope and tie it in a good and tight knot around your chute harness and your behind. Yeah, that's it. Like we did when Cannibal taught you how to rock climb." HM said just loud enough for her to hear. She nodded and did as he said. "Okay." She quietly replied after tying the rope around her like he had told her. Murdock heard her and began pulling her up. Alex closed her eyes and seconds later, Murdock had her on the branch beside him. "You can open them now, muchacha." Murdock said and Alex slowly did. She hadn't even realized she was up beside him now.
She opened her eyes and blinked, then she grabbed Murdock around the neck and hugged him. He hugged her back and unbuckled her chute harness. He left the rope tied around her hips. He untied the rope from the tree and after getting Alex positioned on his back, he tied the end of the rope around him to secure Alex. "Hold onto your hat, muchacha, and hold into me tight." HM said as he started to climb down from the 20 foot tree. Alex clung to him and kept her eyes tightly closed as she buried her face into the back of his neck. He was used to climbing things with a lot more weight on his back, up or down, thanks to Cannibal's training course tests every month. This was a piece of cake, and he silently thanked Cannibal for making them all pass his inspection every month as he made it to the ground and untied Alex from his body. He slid Alex down from his back and stood her in front of him. He squatted down in front of her, at her height. She looked at him as he untied the rope around her hips and slid it off. It made her uncomfortable, but she dealt with it and didn't say anything.
"Are you okay, little muchacha?" Murdock asked after he got the rope off and he looked her over. She giggled. "I'm okay, captain daddy." She answered and he was relieved. As he put the rope back into his pack, he remembered something he had to give to Alex. He fished around in his pack and pulled out a 9MM semi automatic, and he handed it towards Alex. She didn't want it. "Colonel said I wasn't to take a gun from anyone cept him! It was a direct order from a Colonel, daddy!" Alex said as he pushed the gun towards her again. She pushed it away. "Alex, I have to order you to take it as your father and as a higher rank captain. You have to, muchacha, you could be in a position to need it out here. The colonel can take it out on my hide, I've been there before, please Alex, take it." Murdock begged and Alex swallowed.
Cannibal's order kept ringing in her ears. She then told it to quiet, and took the gun. She checked it and took the safety off. Murdock smiled as she slid it into the front of her jeans. "We gotta tag up with Cannibal, B.A., and Face." Murdock said after he stood up again and put his pack back on. "I don't understand it, daddy. I mean first bad men take em away, then they fly far away, an jump outta a plane." Alex said as they started off. Murdock heard her and couldn't find the words to explain what was going on, because he didn't know himself. "C'mon, let's find Cannibal!" Murdock finally says softly and Alex smiled. She was ready, and she did feel better being armed, even if she would never admit it. She also had her martial arts to fall back on, if the need came. She just hoped they could find the rest of her family in time before something really bad happened to them.
Cannibal, cigar in place, thought of his plan as Face scanned Rasham's compound through binocs. Scanning across slowly, he didn't see anything that important except for a chopper. Face put the binocs down and they hung from his neck. He went back over to Cannibal and B.A. "Didja see anything?" The Colonel asked. "Yeah. There's a large clearing about a quarter of a mile ahead. All I could see was the tops of buildings and the rotor of a chopper." Face reported and Cannibal slung the strap back up onto his shoulder. He looked at his watch. "Ya know, we've only got 2 hours until sun down. No wonder those guys are in the state department, they don't know squat about timing on a rescue operation. We gotta hit that compound at daylight or we miss the ride outta here." Cannibal said disgusted. "How we gonna do this, Cannibal?" B.A. asked, not liking being in a jungle without a plan.
Cannibal pulled the sketched map from his khaki jacket's front pocket. He unfolded it and showed it to Face and B.A. "Look. Lynch says this is the hut where they're holding general Ludlum." Cannibal said. "This is Rasham's headquarters." Cannibal said pointing to a rectangle on the map labeled 'headquarters'. "That's our target. We get a hold of him, we control the game. The plan is, your basic, straight on surprise hit and run attack." Cannibal said as he folded the map back up and put it back into his pocket. "If anything goes sour, we split up and rondevou and the drop zone, got it?" Cannibal said as he stepped forward to go ahead and take the lead.
"Uh, wait..." Face said, not liking Cannibal's plan. B.A. cut him off in mid-whine and complaint. "This ain't much of a plan Cannibal." B.A. growled. Face nodded in agreement. Cannibal turned and looked at them. "Are you kidding? It's a classic. It's your half-pincer movement inside a guarded perimeter. Tried and true, B.A." Cannibal replied as he walked on with a smile. B.A. hated this. "Man, he's on the jazz." B.A. said as he looked at Face. Face nodded and started to follow Cannibal. "An we're in big trouble." Face replied and B.A. followed him and they both followed their jazzed Colonel.
Cannibal took the lead, staying low, keeping his eyes and ears open to any sounds as he waited for one of the perimeter guards to come by on patrol. Face followed back 10 seconds behind Cannibal and hid in some bushes to the right of Cannibal's position. B.A. followed Face 15 seconds apart and waited for a perimeter guard as well, from behind a huge tree, to the left of Cannibal's position. Face and B.A, waited for Cannibal's signal that a guard was headed their way. Looking around, Cannibal spotted the first guard headed for Face. Cannibal waved at Face and pointed. Face nodded a why-is-it-always-gotta-be-me nod and waited a few seconds, then along came the unsuspecting guard. Face sat his gun down and came out from behind the bush, landing a hard right into the guard's gut. Then as the guard doubled over, Face kicked him in his face and the guard fell down, knocked out. Face grabbed his gun from the bush and ran towards the compound.
Another guard came B.A.'s way and Cannibal signaled. B.A. waited, the guard came by, B.A. sat his gun down and come out of his hiding spot, and grabbed the guard's wrist, making him drop his gun by bending his hand. The gun drops, and a left cross later, the guard is down for the ten count. B.A. smiled and grabbed his gun from behind the tree, and headed towards the compound.
Cannibal's guard came along seconds after B.A.'s and Cannibal gave him a hit to the back of the head with his gun, knocking him out.
Face ran quietly from the jungle onto the compound and hid beside a truck. He slowly stood up and looked through the window. The truck was parked close enough to the building where they were holding the general for Face to see the armed guards, all 4 of them, joking Around instead of doing their guard duty. Face thought about what Cannibal would do to them for that and suddenly, he saw Cannibal pop up beside a jeep on the other side of the lot.
B.A. remained close by, on Cannibal's other side, hidden in a big bush at the jungle/compound border line. Cannibal looked over and saw the baddies guarding the hut he needed, and gave Face a nod. Face knows what this means and nods back. God he hated classic half-pincer movements. Cannibal reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a garnade. With a smile to Face, he pulled the pin and threw it. It landed on the ground near the guards, and blew up, causing the distraction they needed to rescue the general and his daughter, so they could make the drop one and get the heck outta dodge.
As planned, the baddies ran from their post to investigate the explosion. Face and Cannibal move in. B.A. follows, and once he is up on the little porch, he knocked the doors down. Then they all 3 ran in, runs raised and ready, and they all looked around. Something wasn't right. No guards on the inside. No prisoners. No cages or jail cells. Only a clothesline holding a row of dead chickens upside down by their feet, and pots and kettles hanging from pegs in the walls.
"Cannibal, This don't look like Rasham's headquarters." B.A. growled at Cannibal. Cannibal said nothing, cleared his throat, and ducked underneath the rope. He knew Rasham and his guards would be right back, and sure enough, they came back seconds later, surrounding the door, pointing their guns at B.A. and Face. "Uh, Cannibal, this might be a good time to call king's ex." Face said, having a gun pointed into his gut. Cannibal turned and gave him a smile and a thumbs-up.
Rasham walked in, slicing his way through his soldiers. He looked at Face, B.A., and Cannibal. "Drop your guns." He said, and guns hit the wooden floor with a clank and a rattle. Rasham turned to his guards after the team had dropped their weapons. "Arrest them." He commanded, as he left. B.A. looked at Face and then behind them at Cannibal. "Some classic half-pincer movement." B.A. said as he and Face were taken away. A guard stood beside Cannibal, whom was holding up a silver ladle. He tasted the broth cooking and turned to the guard and said, "Needs salt." The guard grabbed him and dived him underneath the rope, taking him out of the kitchen hut to join his team.
Murdock was glad Alex hadn't seemed to hear it when the jet had hit the ocean and exploded. He had, and it hurt him. He hated crashing jets, or anything else that flew. He looked over at Alex. She scratched her belly where a mosquito had bitten her. Feeling better after a good itch, she pulled her sweatshirt back down over her gun. Her survival training had taught her a lot, and she thanked Cannibal in her mind for making her go through it last year. She kept her eyes and ears open, and she would hear the slightest movements and sounds. She realized that she was doing exactly what she did when she fought and she loved it. She was concentrating and focused, and her mind was completely open. She followed close to Murdock, as Murdock kept his eyes and ears open too.
Murdock really believed what Cannibal had always said right now. Cannibal always said Murdock was the best set of eyes and ears that the team had. He smiled to himself at the memory. All of his years in the cockpit had done that. Alex had these features too, just a few of the very useful traits Alex has inherited because of HM being her father. Murdock was very glad they had it at times like now.
Murdock and Alex made it to the edge of the jungle where B.A. had been before they stormed the kitchen, and Murdock signaled Alex to get down and be quiet. She nodded and squatted down beside him in the bush. Murdock looked away from Alex just in time to see his family, surrounded by armed soldiers, as they were being led to the jail. Alex saw them too, and almost got up and ran to help them. But a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her and she looked at Murdock. "Stay put, Captain." Murdock whispered and Alex nodded okay, anger in her nod. Then she looked back to her guys and tried to keep her fighting power welling up inside of her quiet. "Looks like the A-Team is behind a few points at halftime, here. Cannibal probably tried gettin in by hittin em with what he calls a classic half frontal assault with a half-pincer movement." Murdock said as he watched Cannibal, Face, and B.A. getting led into the doors of the jail. Alex felt helpless, and like the rest of the team, she hated it. She balled her hands into fists and got even angrier. Alex ordered the fighting thoughts in her mind to shut-up and tried to hold herself back. Alex remained quiet as the doors closed behind her family and the guards.
Inside the jail, a man and a girl where already prisoners. The man, sitting on a makeshift bed, and the girl was standing beside him, wiping his sweaty forehead with a rag of some sort. Cannibal saw them as he was pushed into the cell. "Colonel Ludlum?" He asked as he walked in with Face and B.A. in tow. The man stood up and looked at Cannibal. The girl stood close to him at his side. "Right. And my daughter Kathy." The man replied. "How do you do, ma'am." Cannibal said politely, nodding to the girl. "Did the government send you here hoping to help us?" The girl asked, hoping so. "That's right ma'am. We got some real bad intelligence and uh, we wound up assaulting the kitchen. It was a heck of a battle." Colonel Smith answered, looking at Face.
"This doesn't look like it's been too much fun." Face said looking around. "I remember you. You were one of my Colonels in Nam." The general suddenly stopped trying to place Cannibal's face in his memory and said to Cannibal. Cannibal stood up straight and put his arms behind his back. "Right sir." He answered proudly. B.A., looking around as well, thinking of how much this place reminded him of Trent's bedroom, walked over and stood next to Cannibal. The general took one look at B.A. and recalled the big guy as well. "I remember you too." Ludlum said. "Yeah, I busted yo nose in Nam." B.A. said still angry about what Ludlum had done to him. "March 15, 1971." The general replied matter-of-factly. B.A. looked down. He was shocked at how well the general had remembered. He'd remembered almost as well as B.A. had. Face looked from B.A., to the general. "His, uh, attitude, hasn't changed much." Face said hoping B.A. wouldn't clobber him for saying it. Face realized B.A. didn't seem to notice and was relieved.
The girl, whom looked about nineteen, held onto her father's elbow. "They wanna kill dad. Rasham is power hungry and crazy. He wants the plans to the NATO missile sites." Kathy said, breaking up the small reunion. "They're going to have to kill me, because I'm not talkin." Ludlum finished for Kathy as he sat down on the bed. Cannibal put his foot up onto the edge of the other side of the bed and leaned forward onto his knew with his elbow.
"Now general, we're gonna need your co-operation when I come up with a plan to blow outta here. It might not be too orthodox, but I'm not gonna let Rasham off without stickin it in his ear." Cannibal said. "Place is too well fortified. We don't have any weapons, you're just wasting your time." The general replied. Then, the jail door opened and Cannibal took his foot off of the bed and turned facing the door. Rasham walked in, flanked by 2 armed guards. Rasham looked at Cannibal. "American commandos, in my country, without papers. This will be an international incident." Rasham said chuckling. "Whatta you mean, international incident? We heard, you had great potato soup and we wanted to get some before it was all gone." Face quipped, being funny and annoying Rasham. Rasham gave Face a cold look. "You are making very funny jokes. Now, leave me tell you your options." Rasham said pacing.
"Please." Cannibal said crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You will sign confessions stating that you are a guerrilla air-force illegally airlifted into my country. You will admit to crimes against my government, and you will appear before the national press substantiating these charges. If you refuse to do so, you will be shot immediately." Rasham said and Face didn't hear an option he liked. "Well, we get a trial, don't we?" Face asked. Cannibal uncrossed his arms and said, "Now lemme lay it all out for ya fella. We're not signing any confessions. We're not representatives from the US government, as a matter of fact, we're fugitives in the United States. You're gonna have a little trouble making your fantasies stick." Cannibal said and Rasham glared at him.
"Then you choose to die." Rasham asked frustrated. "Wha, what about that trial?" Face asked, waving his hand at Rasham. Rasham smiled evilly. He really didn't like this guy waving at him. "I find you guilty." Rasham replied and Face couldn't think of anything smart to say. "You will be shot within an hour." Rasham finished, giving them all cold, stone faced looks as he left. Hannibal turned to Face. "Justice is a little swift around here, isn't it?" Face nodded and was quiet. He was going to die in an hour! He wouldn't even get to say goodbye to Murdock or Alex. He sat on the floor and started to panic.
"Hannibal, c'mon get on the jazz! Uh, we need a plan!" Face screamed at Hannibal in his head. He looked up and looked to see if Hannibal had any of the jazz's symptoms. Nope. None. "We're doomed."
"Martine!" Rasham came out of the jail and yelled to one of his soldiers. The soldier came over and saluted Rasham. "Prepare a firing squad." Rasham ordered and the soldier saluted him again and left. Rasham smiled, he loved killing, especially when it was Americans he was using for targets.
Alex stared at Rasham with all of the hatred she was feeling. She didn't have to be told who he was. She could sense the greediness, his coldness, and that he didn't have any respect for human life. He loved killing and death, and Alex hated him. Alex clenched her teeth. Murdock put his hand on her shoulder again. "What're we gonna do?" Alex asked, trying to keep her tone of voice in check. Murdock licked his lips and they still felt dry enough to stick together. "We're gonna have ta freelance some kinda plan." Murdock answered.
He remembered the horror he had seen, heard, and been put through in the POW camps during Nam. He shuttered. He never wanted Alex to see anything like that, but he could feel that Rasham was up to something. Then two words came into Murdock's sometimes corrupted mind...Firing squad. Murdock tried to hide his feelings of panic, and fear, for Alex. But, she saw the feelings her father was feeling, they were written all over his face.
They came rising off of him like hot steam from a hot plate of food. Alex got even more angry, and almost snapped her teeth off at the gum line, she was clenching them together so hard. Then she remembered what HM had said about a plan. "What?" Alex asked. Murdock sighed and snapped back from worrying and bad memories to Alex's question. "That's usually Hannibal's end of the stick, but..." Murdock stopped in mid-sentence, looking around.
He saw the chopper and swallowed. This reminded him of Nam, and he hated it. He wanted to forget it and nothing seemed to let him. He pushed the nightmares and memoried back into their box and put them back under lock and key. He had to keep them at bay, or he wouldn't be any help to anyone. He couldn't snap again, at least not out here. "That chopper has got to be the only way outta here." Murdock finished. Alex looked at the birdie and nodded. She began to recall what Hannibal had taught her about planning. She tried to get on the jazz, and smiled.....
"Forget about the chopper, we haven't got a pilot." Hannibal said to his own silent question of using the chopper to escape. He and B.A. were looking out of the only barred window in the cell. "Don't matta. I'll walk before I'll fly." B.A. replied and Hannibal shook his head at him and turned to walk away. Then he felt B.A.'s big hand grab his arm. "Hannibal, look!" B.A. said pointing out of the window. "It's a buncha gasoline drums next to a ammo dump." B.A. finished and Hannibal looked out of the window and scanned across the yard.
He spotted the dump and put his arm on B.A.'s shoulder. "That's what it is. Now that wasn't very bright, was it?" Hannibal looked at the sergeant as he shook his head no and asked. He had his jazz smile and his eyes had lit up. The jazz lives! B.A. shook his head no. "You think we could puncture a hole inone of em an leak a little?" Hannibal asked as he and the sergeant turned away from the window. "Maybe." B.A. replied thinking to himself. He was worried about Alex and Murdock. They were probably worried about them, and he knew how much Alex had went through to try and find Murdock, and he hoped that she wasn't out in the jungle alone, somewhere, trying to help them. They had to get outta there for their sakes. "C'mon." Hannibal said walking over to where Face, general Ludlum, and Kathy were sitting and standing.
"Now, we've only got an hour because they're putting us in front of a firing squad, but I have a plan. If iy's gonna work, I haveta get shot first." Hannibal explained pointing to himself smiling as B.A. bent down and grasped the edge of the bed. "Git up." B.A. said. "What are you going to do?" The general looked back at B.A. and asked. "What the pentegon's payin us to do, be creative." Hannibal replied as he watched B.A. grab ahold of the edge of the bed tighter. "I said get up!" B.A. said louder this time. The general stood up and B.A. lifted the bed, the mattress slid off onto the floor. He held up the springs and looked them over. "It'll do." B.A. said and then He, Face and Hannibal went to work tearing the bed springs and frame apart. They ended up making a metal version of the sling shot, and B.A. used pieces from the bed frame to loosen the bolts on the jail door. He unscrewed 2 screws and kept them to use as their ammo.
Minutes after finishing, Hannibal heard footsteps outside in the hallway. "Here he comes!" The colonel whispered. Rasham walked into the room as soon as Hannibal shut-up and stood up from the floor.
Rasham walked in and didn't waste anytime with small talk. "Are you ready to confess?" Rasham stopped at Hannibal and asked. "I already gave you my answer. We're Americans. We've got nothing to confess." Hannibal lit his cigar with a match and once it's job was done, he snuffed it out and threw it down. Rasham hated Hannibal. You could see it in his annoyed little eyes, he wasn't getting his way, so he would do the next best thing. Kill. "Then you are ready to die." Rasham half asked, half replied. Hannibal smiled, just to annoy this pig in front of him.
"Well, nobody's ever ready, but it comes with the territory. Let's go." Hannibal said rubbing his hands together. He turned around and faced the guarded door of the jail. Rasham turned his head and looked at Hannibal as he turned to leave. Then he turned back around and pointed at Face. "You." He said and Hannibal whirled back around facing Rasham again. Face looked worried. "Uh, me?" He asked, pointing at himself. His voice had that scared-little-child-tone, and Rasham liked it when his prisoners were afraid to die.
"Hey dirtball, I'm in command here, an keeping with military tradition, I get to go first." Hannibal said pointing his finger into Rasham's chest. "Take him away." Rasham ignored Hannibal and turned to his soldiers. "Your turn will come later." Rasham turned to Hannibal and said. Face's eyes were huge as he watched the guards come towards him. "Uh, no, no wait guys can't we talk about his, I'm not really with those guys." Face said as the guards grabbed him by his arm and the back of his jacket and drug him from the cell. Rasham gave Hannibal a cold smile and left. He thought he was hurting Hannibal by taking Face instead of him.
After Rasham was gone, Hannibal smiled. He'd known Rasham would go for Face all along. His front had worked. He turned to B.A. "Get going B.A." Hannibal said as he headed across the room, over to the bar covered window again. B.A. nodded and bent down to what was left of the bed. He flipped up the mattress, and pulled out a giant sized, metal version of a sling shot.
"Here Alex, you take this." Murdock said putting the flare gun into her hand. Hannibal screamed no inside her head, but she shamefully ignored it. She took a grasp onto it and checked it to be sure it was loaded, and then she listened to him. "An when I throw one of these smoke flares, you run like a rabbit an..don't..look..back" Hm stopped in mid-sentence as he saw the firing squad lining up in formation. Then he saw Face being pulled out of the jail by his jacket.
Murdock's heart almost stopped, panic swept through him and his face was white. Alex saw his expression and followed his gaze. When she saw them with Face, she almost screamed for him, but she was frozen in place, as she heard a guard turn to Rasham and say, "All ready, sir." It echoed inside her head as her body was suddenly numb. Face was going to die...and she was going to watch it happen, helpless?? *Alex! Wake up! You are a part of him! Snap out of it! Here's your plan..* The jazz screamed at Alex. She came back to earth from the long journey to her mind and heard Rasham's voice. "Place him on his mark." Rasham answered the soldier.
"Look, I tell ya you've got the wrong guy. Ya know, the other fella, he likes this kinda thing." Face said as he fought being taken and placed in front of the firing squad. "Yeah, uh, you're gonna hear from my senator about his." Face said as he stalled as much as he could. The guards stopped him and tied his hands behind his back.
B.A. brought the sling shot over to the window after quicky reassembling it. "Okay." B.A. said to Hannibal, peering out the window. Hannibal took the 2 hooks and put them onto the bars of the window.
Face continued to stall. "Wha, wha, wait a minute, no last cigarette? Ah, c'mon, just a cigarette?" Face asked and Rasham told one of his soldiers to give Face one. The soldier saluted and walked over to Face. He took a cigarette from his shirt pocket and put it into Face's mouth. Then he lit it for him and went back into formation. Face was scared. But he kept his mind on Hannibal's plan as much as he could regardless. He took a deep breath. "Thanks." He said to the soldier. The soldier remained stone faced, ready to kill him with his commander's first breathing order.
B.A. slid the steel rod between the metal bars and Hannibal pulled the trigger back. Face began stalling again, and Hannibal could hear the real fear beginning to sound in his voice. "Hang in there kid, we'll get ya outta there before that dirtball does anything drastic.." Hannibal thought to himself.
"Ya know, you check out the Geneva convention, and uh, I bet there's all kinds of stuff we're missing here. Ah, what about a last meal for the condemed man? I didn't get that!" Face complained frantically. "No last requests. Not a one." Face's complaints were never ending.
Hannibal and B.A. got ready to fire, and checked there aim on the gasoline drums. B.A. placed a screw from the jail door into the sling shot after they were sure their aim was dead on. "Okay B.A., get there attention." The colonel said and B.A. went over to the door and started pounding on it with his fists. "Hey man! Hey you can't do this! I'm gonna make you pay! You can't get away with this!" B.A. yelled as he continued to pound, everyone looked at the jail, and Hannibal fired, landing the screw into one of the gasoline drums. Gas poured out of the hole, around the bullet lodged in the metal side onto the ground. Rasham paid B.A.'s yelling no mind and turned back to the matter at hand. "Proceed." He ordered.
Face saw the gas pouring out onto the ground, it had formed a small puddle. Face took a chance and spit the cigarette in the puddle's direction..."Prepare to fire!" The soldier said. Guns were raised and checked. Face watched as the cigarette flew through the air..."Take aim!' The soldier said. Four guns were pointed and aimed at Face. The cigarette landed into the puddle and was snuffed out. Face saw and looked towards the window, he looked afraid. He thought it was all over and closed his eyes tight.
Alex had tears of fear and anger running down her face as she squeezed the flare gun in her hands. Face couldn't die, but she promised the colonel about the gun...Murdock was speechless, he couldn't breathe...
"Fire!" The soldier ordered ...Face closed his eyes tighter....Alex quickly raised the flare gun and took aim...dead on...BOOM!!! an explosion rocked the compound as her shot hit dead on and blew up the gasoline/ammo dump. Murdock looked at her stunned, She had fired perfectly, and without an order. He saw her anger and wiped his own eyes. He hadn't realized that he had been crying as well. The explosion rocked the entire compound, knocking the firing squad down and burning one to death. Face staggered sideways, and then his senses came back to him and he ran. Rasham had fallen as well, and he saw Face running away. "Get the prisoner!" Rasham yelled as he pulled out his gun from his shoulder holster. He pointed it at Face's back....Alex saw Rasham with the gun and got angrier. She had never lowered the flare gun from firing the first time. "No you don't!" Alex screamed as she aimed the flare gun at a jeep near where Rasham was standing. She fired, and seconds later the jeep blew up, stunning Rasham and Murdock speechless. Alex's anger for Rasham, and the bounty hunters had a hold of her, and she didn't make it let her go.
Murdock finally smiled and took one of the smoke flares from his back pack. He lit it and threw it, and smoke filed the area. Alex remained ready, except now she had pulled the 9MM out of the front of her jeans and had it in the flare gun's place. Alex kept the gun raised, ready to kill anyone whom tried to stop her and her daddy from saving her family.
"Now don't get too close." Hannibal said to General Ludlum and his daughter as they watched B.A. go over to the jail door. He went to work ripping off of it's hinges seconds later. Then they ran out of the jail and Murdock threw another smokie. B.A. was the first one out of the front door, and when a soldier ran over and tried to stop him, B.A. head-butted him for his trouble. As B.A. fought a few guards, Hannibal, the general, and Kathy made their way to the chopper.
Hannibal had decided he would fly if he had to, he had watched Murdock a million times. "Get her to the chopper, general." Hannibal yelled over all of the noise. The general stopped and took a gun from one of the dead soldiers and ran towards the chopper, tightly holding Kathy's hand. Hannibal stopped and scanned the smokey compound for Face. The general and Kathy made it to the chopper safely and jumped in. "Face!" Hannibal yelled. Rasham heard his yell, but Face didnt. Hannibal didn't know Rasham had been following him, just waiting for his oppertunity to blow him away. Rasham stood up from in front of the only jeep left and tried to sneak up behind the colonel. Hannibal had his back to the jeep, and he didn't know Rasham or anybody else was there, but Alex's keen eye saw Rasham and before he could pull the trigger, she did. A single shot went through his right knee, and he screamed, and fell to the ground, losing his gun.
Hannibal felt like he had just lost 20 years of his life, and he looked at Rasham moaning and bleeding on the ground, and tried to figure out where the shot had come from, and who had shot Rasham. He felt he knew who it was, but he stopped worrying about Rasham and who his shooter was, and secretly thanked god for watching him and letting the good guy fire first.
Murdock couldn't believe his daughter's dead eye. Alex lowered the gun and put it back into the front of her jeans. Murdock grabbed his backpack, and her hand, and they ran for the chopper. As they ran, Alex hoped that the Colonel wouldn't be too mad at her for using both of the guns, and that he wouldn't punish Murdock too bad for giving them to her.
Face stopped in front of one of the covered trucks and saw a snow plow type thingie on the front of it. Face stuck his wrists over the pole and began rubbing the ropes across the pole as fast as he could. He was afraid he would get left behind, even though his consience told him Hannibal would never leave a member of his team behind.
Murdock and Alex got to the chopper and Hannibal was very shocked to see them. He had a million questions to ask but he didn't have time right now. They climbed into the chopper and Murdock fired her up. Hannibal saw the gun in the front of Alex's jeans and got very angry. He knew he couldn't do anything about it right now, but he reminded himself to do it later. He was about to climb up into the chopper too, and he yelled for Face again. It was so smokey he couldn't see very far ahead. B.A. finally came over to the chopper and looked at Hannibal. Then he saw Murdock and Alex in the cockpit and was surprised. *No pilot, huh?* B.A. thought to himself.
Face was still rubbing the ropes, and hoped for a miracle that he wouldn't get shot in the meantime by some soldier looking for a medal.
Alex and Murdock looked at B.A. and Alex waved, she was very happy to se him. He winked back and then he looked over at Hannibal. He knew he was going to make him fly and he growled. "B.A., will ya get in?" Murdock asked loudly over the roar of the engine and the blades going so fast. "No! I anin't gonna fly!" B.A. yelled back. B.A. turned back around helping to scan for Face. "Is he kidding?" The general asked. "No, he's afraid to fly." The colonel yelled back his reply. Then, B.A. felt that all too familiar pain in his head as the general took the gun he'd taken from the fallen soldier and hit him with it. Everything went black and B.A. fell backwards. Hannibal caught him, surprised. "Didn't know you had it in ya, general." Hannibal said as he helped get B.A. into the chopper. Ludlum smiled and shook his head. "I've been waiting a long time for that." Ludlum answered as he got B.A. into the chopper the rest of the way.
Hannibal stood on the leg of the chopper and yelled, "Get this bird up, Murdock!" and Murdock nodded. He pulled the chopper up and Hannibal was able to scan the compound for Face by air.
Face's ropes finally snapped and he had to fight off a lone soldier before he was able to climb up onto the trucks hood and wave for the chopper. Meanwhile, Murdock got a gun ready for Hannibal as he let Alex hold the chopper steady for him. She did, with pride. "Here ya go, Colonel!" He yelled as he passed the gun back to the general. Ludlum handed it to Hannibal, and Hannibal began to give the chopper the cover it needed from Rasham's army's gun fire. They flew a little ways, when Hannibal spotted Face trying to flag them down. "He's over there!" Hannibal yelled to Murdock pointing. Murdock nodded and swung the chopper in low enough for Face to grab onto the other chopper leg. Face grabbed on, wrapping his arms tightly around the bar. Murdock saw him ready and pulled up, when one of the soldiers grabbed Face's legs! Face got angry and booted him in the face, and he fell, letting go of Face's legs. Murdock took the birdie up, with Face dangling from one side of the chopper, and Hannibal standing on the other. Hannibal was smiling, with his cigar lit and in the corner of his mouth. Another mission successful.
Alex looked over at Murdock and he smiled. She hoped the colonel hadn't seen the gun before she realized it was showing and covered it back up with her sweatshirt. When Hannibal said something, he meant it, and Alex knew that. She knew she and Murdock were in big time trouble and she was worried. She smiled back anyway, and was quiet the rest of her flight. Her mind was running rampant, she had a headache, and she couldn't wait to get home.
Later after taking the general and his daughter to safety, they ditched the chopper and got the van. B.A. was happy to see his baby again, and patted the hood as he went around and got in. Alex's thoughts were the same as they were in the chopper, as they drove on the highway in the van. She tried to not think about it and picked up a newspaper off of Murdock's lap. She read the front page headline out loud, "A-Team escapes again. Not a bad headline, huh?" Alex read and asked. Hannibal smiled at it. "Hey man, I don't know why everybody gettin a big thrill about readin yo name in the paper. I thought this was supossed to be a low profile outfit." B.A. said and Alex put the paper down. She hadn't meant to make him mad. Face was sitting on the floor of the van, leaning against the sliding door. He was glad he was back in the USA and out of Borneo. "B.A., if everyone thinks we're in prison, no one's gonna try ta hire us. A little advertising just to let people know we're still out there." Face said and Alex had to agree with Face. Hannibal listened to Face and lit his cigar.
"Hey man, if people know we on the street, Colonel Lynch know we on the street." B.A. replied growling. "He already caught us once. We gettin pretty sloppy around here." B.A. said and Alex sat up. "Ah, c'mon uncle B.A., just atke a minute an relax, enjoy. We got outta Borneo alive." Alex said and B.A. smiled at the thought of the invention he'd created. "Yeah, we did, didn't we?" He said proudly. "Barely." Face said and Hannibal looked back at Alex. She knew it. Here it comes. "And you were armed Alex, and I know you shot Rasham. I didn't gove you a gun or any orders to fire one either, which means Murdock gave it to you and I will deal with the both of you when we get home." Hannibal said and Alex cringed. Murdock did too, He looked at Alex and Alex looked at him, and then they both looked at Face. He was usually the one getting yelled at. Face was sitting there smiling, he wasn't in trouble this time! Alex sighed and looked down at her hands. Murdock did the same, and hoped Hannibal would take the greater part of it out on him, and leave Alex outta it, especially because she hadn't wanted to take the gun, she had said no. But he had made her, so he should be the one in trouble, not Alex. But he knew Hannibal would say she still didn't have to take it or use it, and Murdock knew he couldn't argue that.
Hannibal smiled and tried to decide how he was going to punish his captains. He thought of an idea and remembered the sergeant's last comment. "It's okay B.A., it'll take Lynch at least a couple a weeks to get on our tails again." Hanibal said. Then, like he heard Hanibal's voice and smart remark, Lynch spotted the van from the other side of the highway, and the team soon heard sirens as Lynch gave chase. "Weeks, huh?" B.A. asked as he tore off and began to easily out run Lynch. Hannibal just smiled.
End of Deception part 7
part 8 being typed
in other words,
TBC!!!!!!