Title: Deception 8/9
Author: Murdock's Crazylady
Rated: PG (For talk of exam)
Summary: The punishment begins for HM and Alex, Alex's secret comes out during her bath, A visit to Maggie confirms the truth, Alex goes catatonic and Murdock goes psychotic, Hannibal and Face go to get revenge

Archive: Yes, Please!

Warnings: talk of Alex's rape, not graphic.

Disclaimer: I don't own the team. Not that I wouldn't mind having Dwight for a big brother though..I do own Alex...she's my child side..And I own Danny..
© 2000 Murdock's Crazylady (MCL)
Author's notes : Expect a lot more from this, especially a twist, this is my first FanFic, so please don't be too hard on me!

Thanks to Kelly for beta reading Deception for me.

(Words in these are Alex's thoughts)



Deception

Part 8



"C'mon Alex, move it, move it, move it! My grandmother could walk faster than that!" Hannibal yelled as Alex ran following after Murdock, hopping as fast as she could through a net stretched across the ground on legs, like a trampoline. Hannibal followed them from the side, drilling the heck out of them. Murdock scaled a 10 foot wall and Alex followed, and didn't have any problem scaling it. Breathing hard, Murdock grabbed the first cross-over bar and started to go arm over arm across the row of 50 monkey bars as fast as he could. He was concentrating, and he was barely aware of Hannibal yelling at him to move faster.

Alex was seconds behind her father when Hannibal began yelling at her again. "Go Alex! The decision to use that gun came faster than that, didn't it, Alex? NOW MOVE!!" Hannibal yelled as Alex got to the monkey bar's end. Alex ran and grabbed the slider-pulley and glided only a half second behind Murdock, landing tired, but gracefully in her feet. Murdock had landed harder, and not at all graceful, but he had landed on his feet all the same. Alex stood next to Murdock gasping for air when Hannibal got over to them.

"That wasn't bad for the second try, but you lagged thw whole time Alex, and you know the rules." Hannibal said as Alex was going to argue. Hannibal nodded his head no and pointed and Alex didn't try to argue again. "Two miles to the stable and two miles back. No walkin. I know. You'll we watchin. I know." Alex answered as she mumbled something smart under her breath. Hannibal heard it as she walked off. "Make it three to and from for that, Captain." Hannibal yelled and Alex ducked her head a little and jogged off. She growled and waved her arm to let him know she heard him.

Hannibal smiled and he and Murdock walked towards home, watching to make sure Alex didn't cheat. Hannibal had decided on making Alex and Murdock run the physical course twice a day, plus extra running to whoever is lagging. Plus, on top of all that, kitchen duty for a month. They were both regretting the Borneo mission from the 6th day of getting up at 5AM to begin the course. It was now the 7th straight day and the 4th time Alex was the one who had to run.

Yesterday, she recalled as she ran, she'd argued the Colonel about who was slower and she lost, and was made do a 5 mile run to and from the stable. Hannibal saw Alex slowing down on her first trip back. "Double time if you slow down Alex!" Hannibal yelled and Alex picked her pace back up. Hannibal then remembered Murdock was still standing beside him, waiting to be dismissed back to the house. "Captain, you are dismissed." Hannibal said to Murdock. HM nodded and wiped his forehead dry of sweat as he walked off. Three things were all that were in Murdock's mind as he jogged back home: Hot shower, cold drink of Coca-Cola, and soft recliner.

Alex made her run in 15 minutes, and Hannibal then followed her back to the house. Trent of course, loves every second of Alex and Murdock's punishment. He got up everyday at 4am with them just to watch them go through the course. He had to get up at 5am anyway for school, so he had plenty of time to watch them being drilled. He was on the porch, wearing his blue and black school uniform when Alex and the Colonel got back. Alex's hair was soaking wet and matted to her head underneath her light orange knitted hat. Her clothes, a grey sweat suit matching Murdock's, was drenched with sweat and sticking to her. Alex was tired and irritable and she glared at Trent as Hannibal opened the front door and they went inside. Trent, smiling, followed.

Murdock had gotten his hot and satisfying shower and felt a ton better. He came downstairs with his hair still a little damp as Alex and Hannibal came in. B.A. and Face were both watching TV in the family room when Alex came in dragging her feet and they both smiled at her. She nodded back as she threw herself on the floor, and sprawled out full eagle. B.A. looked at her and said, "Tired, little mama? Go take a hot bath. You'll feel better. Take a nap too." Alex thought about how nice a hot bath would be. "Good idea uncle B.A." Alex said as she got back up.

Trent heard his bus pull up and honk it's horn and yelled goodbye, grabbed his bag of clothes and stuff, his backpack and slung them over his shoulder. He'd refused to let anyone help him, so no one asked him a second time. Then ran down the drive to catch it. Seconds later, he was off for a month of live in private boys school. Face thought it might do Trent some good in toning him down a little, plus with all the missions they were going on recently, he thought it would also give Mimi a break too. Murdock came into the family room and Alex went over to him and he smiled as she grabbed his legs and literally leaned on them to keep from falling down. "Daddy, I wanna take a hot bath." Alex said and Murdock pushed her matted bangs out of her eyes. "I'm way ahead of you muchacha. You're hot bath awaits." Murdock said and Alex headed towards the stairs. When she nearly tripped, she picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. The colonel had a smile on his face as he sat down in the recliner with a hot cup of coffee in his hand. Face waited for Murdock and Alex to be gone before he sat up on the couch nearest the recliner. He looked at Hannibal.

"Uh, colonel, don't you think you're over doing it, just a little? I mean, Alex is only 6-years-old." Face asked, not liking the way Alex looked so drained after the course everyday. "Yeah man. She saved yo life an Face's too, an you punishin her for that?" B.A. agreed. Hannibal sipped his coffee calmly. He knew this was coming.

"Alex was big enough to take a gun I didn't give her, and she was old enough to shoot someone without my order, and she'd big enough to handle the punishment that goes with it. I'm almost not being hard enough on them. Murdock knows better then to go against my orders, let alone telling Alex it was okay. He gave her the gun, Face! He's her father, and he shouldn't have given her that gun. He should have used better judgement." Hannibal said and Face was quiet. He could see it wasn't going to do him a bit of good to argue Hannibal. B.A. was quiet as well, except for a low growl.

Murdock went and got Alex some fresh clothes while she played in the tub. Murdock went into Alex's room and opened her closet. He took out a pair of Alex's favorite blue denim overalls, and a horse printed tee-shirt. Then some socks and underwear from her dresser, and her combat boots from her floor. He carried the clothes back down the hall, and when he reached the bathroom door, he shifted the pile of clothes to one arm and knocked. "Yeah?" Alex asked playing with a plastic submarine. "It's daddy, I gotcha some clothes." HM said politely. "Okay, c'min." Alex said splashing water out of the tub as she mage the little sub dive. Murdock opened the door and came in.

He nearly slipped across the wet floor as he walked over and sat the clothes on the counter by the sink. Murdock smiled and recalled doing the same not only as a kid, but here recently and grabbed a towel from the bathroom closet. He sat down on the floor beside the tub and wiped up the water. Then he took the wet towel and put it down the laundry chute. Then Murdock went back over to the tub and smiled at Alex playing. "Didja bath yet?" Murdock asked, figuring she hadn't. "No." Alex answered as she stopped playing with her sub. She was holding tightly in both hands, looking up at him.

Murdock got on his knees by the tub and reached across her. He got the wash cloth and Alex watched him wide eyed. (Bad man, hurting me, bad man hurting me..) Alex flash backed to her nightmares as she looked at Murdock and her eyes focused again. "Whatta you gonna do?" Alex asked, suddenly wishing she had her clothes on. Murdock had bathed Alex a million times, and he didn't notice her sudden fear of him touching her. "I'm gonna bath you, silly." Murdock answered as he rubbed soap onto the wash cloth. (Bad man..bad man...) Alex's eyes grew wider and she moved to the other end of the tub, as far from his as she could get. Murdock looked at her and thought she was playing, but her sudden scream changed his mind.

"No! No, don't touch me! Stay away!" Alex yelled, the fear in her voice was very clear. Murdock was shocked, so shocked, his mouth was hanging open in shock. She had never acted this way before, ever, not even in her terrible twos days. He moved towards her, going to comfort her, and to his horror, she winced and cringed at him. He slowly reached over and took Alex's hand. She was quiet, but her bottom lip was quivering and he knew she was about to cry. Her eyes seemed even wider. "Muchacha, what's wrong?" Murdock asked softly, looking into her scared brown eyes. She began to shake as if she was cold. "I want grampa. I want grampa!!" Alex screamed. Murdock, scared and shocked, ran and found Hannibal.

"Colonel, hurry. Alex. There's something wrong with Alex and she wants you." Murdock said panicing. Hannibal looked at Murdock's concerned face and sat his cup of coffee on the coffee table and got up. He followed Murdock upstairs. Once they were outside the bathroom door, Hannibal gave Murdock a comforting smile before he opened the door. Murdock turned the knob and Alex jumped and looked at HM like he was a serial killer. "I got grampa for you." HM said and Hanibal came in. Murdock closed the door and went to his room. He had to sit down, he suddenly felt light headed.

Alex seemed to calm a little when Hannibal came over and squatted down to the tub's height. He laid his arms up onto the edge of the tub and looked at Alex with a smile. Alex suddenly got up and grabbed Hannibal around the neck. Her arms were all wet and bubbily from her bubble bath, and she got the necks of his shirt and jacket all wet. He sat there, not sure what to do, as she held into him tight. Then he heard her whisper, "He hurt me grampa." And Hannibal lifted her out of the tub. He stood her in front of him and took his jacket off, wrapping her in it. Alex was crying. Hannibal kept telling himself she couldn't mean what he was thinking. "What? Who? Murdock? Who hurt you?" Hannibal asked. "No, not daddy...The hunter man...The man who took daddy.. He hurted me!" Alex explained in between crying as she held onto his neck shivering in fear. Hannibal closed his eyes. He still begged him consience to be wrong. "Okay Alex. C'mon. Let's get you dressed, we're going to see Maggie." Hannibal said and Alex, crying, let him dry her off the rest of the way with his jacket, and get her dressed. Then he stood up and felt his legs come back to life and then he felt her grab his legs and he picked her up. He carried her out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

Murdock heard Alex crying and ran downstairs. He saw Hannibal holding Alex, and looked at him concerned and confused. "I'm taking Alex to see Maggie, Murdock. I think she's sick. She'll be okay, we'll be home later." Hannibal said. Murdock nodded, worried, and B.A. tossed Hannibal his van keys and they left. Alex cried the whole way to Bad Rock, and she was nearly asleep when they finally pulled up at Maggie's clinic. Hannibal pulled the keys and put them into his soaked jeans pocket. Then he picked Alex up from the passenger seat and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her inside.

After a quick, private explaination, Hannibal stood by Alex's bedside holding her hand as Maggie prepared a needle to give Alex a seditive. Alex was crying, but half asleep. "Okay, Alex honey, I'm going to give you a shot. You're going to go to sleep, but Hannibal will stay right here with you the whole time, okay?" Maggie said as she rubbed an alcohol pad over a small area of Alex's arm. "Uh, hokay." Alex replied as Maggie quickly stuck her. Alex cried and squeezed Hannibal's hand at the sting of the shot. Hannibal looked away, he couldn't bare to see Alex in pain. Alex fell asleep seconds later and Maggie gave Alex her first 'womanly' exam. Hannibal stayed beside Alex the whole time, with his head turned away from what Maggie was doing. Maggie couldn't believe what she found. she could tell from the bruising of Alex's insides, that Alex's innocence had been savagely taken from her, and she was surprised at the comment that Alex hadn't shown any symptoms of it before now.

Five minutes later, Maggie was done and she re-dressed Alex. Then she looked sadly at Hannibal. She had tears in her eyes and Hannibal stood up and went over to her. He looked at her and she nodded. Hannibal saw her nod and felt like he'd been sucker punched. Hannibal remembered how withdrawn Alex had been, how changed, after the bounty hunters kidnaped Murdock. Anger boiled inside of him, and he punched the wall. Maggie hugged him, and saw that his emotions had clouded his usually crystal clear blue eyes. His eyes were grey and tear filled. "She's just a baby, Maggie. Just a baby, dammit." He said as his anger and sadness welled up inside of him as fast as his tears filled his eyes. His seldom seen tears fell, as Maggie continued to hold him. Then, a dreadful thought hit Hannibal. "How am I going to tell Murdock the baby..." The Colonel wouldn't say the horrid word. Maggie had thought of that as soon as she found out the truth. She gently reached up and wiped one of Hannibal's tears away as it ran down his cheek.

"Very carefully, love. Alex has been hurt in a way no child should ever be hurt, and he might have a hard time coping with it. You'll have to be there for him, no matter how hard he takes it, and be prepared for the worst. I can see the pain in your eyes, but yours won't compare to Murdock's. His is going to be a hundred times worse. Please be ready, love." Maggie said. Then Alex began to wake up and started to cry again. Hannibal wiped his face quickly and went to her. He thought the crying was from the sedative, but he was wrong. He held her hand as she came around and Maggie stood at the other side of her. Alex came to and opened her eyes, she looked immeadiately to the Colonel. "He hurt me grampa... He hurt me...I couldn't stop him..I tried..He hurt me!!" Alex said crying as hard as her little lungs would allow. Hannibal picked her up and held her, rocking her. He couldn't stand to see her laying there crying like she was.

He held her close, and she cried and cried, as she held onto him for dear life. Then, as quickly as it started, Alex suddenly stopped crying and went catatonic. Hannibal said goodbye and thank you to Maggie, and carried Alex out to the van. Maggie waved them off, and understood when she recalled he hadn't kissed her goodbye like he usually did. She knew sex or anything related to it would not cross his mind for a really long time. Hannibal had to drive the whole way home with Alex on his lap because she wouldn't let go of him. It was like someone had crazy glued her to him. Once they were back home, he had to carry her inside because she was in her own little world.

Hannibal came in and Alex had finally loosened her grip enough so he could sit her down on the couch beside B.A. She just sat there, staring straight ahead, not even blinking. B.A. looked at Alex and waved his hand in front of her face. Nothing. No life behind her wide, glassy, brown eyes. B.A. gave Face a glance filled with worry and Face nodded. He had a crazy feeling he knew what was wrong with Alex, but he hoped he was wrong, and kept the tears at bay until he was sure. He was really worried about Alex, nonetheless. Murdock came running in and Hannibal caught him before he caught a glimpse of Alex. "How's Alex, Colonel?" Murdock asked as he followed Hannibal out the back door. Hannibal silently tried to prepare himself for however Murdock took it. Even if he took it so hard he tried to do something stupid, like suicide or find and kill the bounty hunter responsible. He would be ready. They walked out to the stable and Murdock asked about Alex again as they went inside. "What's wrong with Alex, Hannibal? She got a flu bug or somethin?" Murdock asked as he looked at Hannibal. He didn't like Hannibal's look.

The Colonel put his hand on Murdock's shoulder and applied pressure and Murdock sat down on a bale of straw, looking up at Hannibal questioningly. Murdock could sense that whatever was wrong with Alex wasn't good. "Colonel?" Murdock looked up and asked, totally serious. Hannibal gulped. "Alex...Murdock,..Alex.." The Colonel didn't know to tell him and he stammered. "Colonel, please tell me." Murdock asked and Hannibal gathered his thoughts and readied himself. He swallowed. "Murdock, Alex was molested." Hannibal's words smacked Howlin Mad Murdock like a fist to the nose and he was instantly crying. Hannibal held him in a fatherly gesture, and HM cried his heart out, not caring who saw or heard him. "NO! She's just a baby, Dammit!! A baby!! No..." Murdock screamed as his anger hit him. Murdock continued to cry like a newborn baby.

"Are you sure?" Murdock asked in between crying spasims. "Yeah. Maggie put her to sleep and checked. They took "It" captain. We don't know which one did it, but I'm hoping Alex will tell us." Hannibal said and Murdock closed his eyes tightly. His mind felt like it was going to snap again. He couldn't take this...but he couldn't go back to the VA and loose Alex, he wouldn't let that happen. But his pain was eating at him and he couldn't help the screaming and crying.

"NO...NO...NO...Not Alex, Not my baby!" Murdock kept repeating those words over and over as Hannibal helped him back to the house. He was nearly carrying him, and seconds after leaving the barn, he ended up having to pick Murdock up and carrying him the rest of the way to the house.

B.A. and Face looked slapped as Hannibal walked in carrying a crying Murdock upstairs. They looked at Hannibal as he walked past in shock. They couldn't believe the sight of their usually happy-go-lucky pilot/father. Hannibal got Murdock to his room and tucked him into his bed. Murdock continued to repeat the same sentence over and over. "No..God no, not Alex..no.." Hannibal looked at Murdock as Murdock cried and thrashed about like he was in a nightmare, but he was awake, not asleep.

"Captain, Alex needs you. She's scared, she needs her daddy. Try to get to sleep, you need your rest so can help your daughter." Hannibal said, and Murdock repeated the sentence like he hadn't heard a word Hannibal had said. "Get some rest Captain, and that's a direct order!" Hannibal yelled sternly, trying to get Murdock's attention. He got it and Murdock slowed and eased his breathing, and stopped repeating the words. He closed his eyes and Hannibal fatherly wiped Murdock's tears away with the "Lone Ranger" bed sheet.

He felt so sorry for Murdock, and he promised him silently that he would get the one who did this. Hannibal stood up from the edge of Murdock's bed and turned to leave when he heard a faint whisper coming from behind him. He turned and looked at Murdock. "Please Hannibal, don't leave me home alone." Murdock begged and Hannibal smiled. HM had always been more of a child, and Hannibal loved him like a son. "Don't worry captain, B.A. is going to stay here with you and Alex." Hannibal replied. "Now goodnight, Captain." Hannibal said raising his eyebrow. Murdock obediantly rolled over and closed his eyes. Hannibal smiled again and left Murdock's room quietly. As he went downstairs, he thought about how amazing it was that Murdock had known he was going to go and find the guy who'd done this.

Upstairs, as he sucked his thumb, Murdock was glad the Colonel had ordered him to go to sleep, because he didn't know what he might do to the guy if he got his hands on him. (Well, yeah, I do...I'm going to shoot you in the gut so you'll die slow and suffer...it's more than you deserve...) But Murdock decided he wanted him to suffer and be in so much pain that he would beg to be shot to end it. Murdock wanted him to suffer the way he had made the baby suffer. Murdock fell asleep and dreamed of what else he would do to Alex's rapist.

Hannibal came downstairs and told Face to come on. He told B.A. to watch Alex and Murdock, and he took Alex up to her bed before he and Face left.

About an hour later, B.A. heard a blood curdling scream coming from upstairs. He dropped the milk in his hand and it fell into the sink, splashing the counter and floor with a white puddle. He ran up the stairs and followed the screams to Alex's room. He opened Alex's door and scanned the room. Then he saw her, all huddled up, in a corner of her room, crying. B.A. came in, saw her and thought to himself, "My god, what happened to her?" as he went over to her the thought that more than once. He squatted down and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She cowered away from him and curled tighter into a ball. B.A. was shocked and took his hand away. He sat down on the floor not far from her, just far enough so she wouldn't feel closed in and sat in Indian style. He'd decided to wait and make sure she was okay before he went and left her alone. Alex just sat in her corner, and began humming a song close to her. Murdock and her loved it, and he always sang it or hummed it to her when she was hurt or sick, or scared. It was the Beatles's Yellow submarine. Yet another reason why Alex had the toy sunbarine she played in the tub with.

After about ten minutes straight of humming, it suddenly stopped. Alex slowly turned around and faced B.A. The big guy smiled and Alex started to cry. He went to hold her, and she winced. He reached for her again, slowly, and said, "Don't worry little mama, I ain't gonna hurt ya." B.A. said it in a soft and kind tone. Alex felt her trust for him and it told her not to fear him and that he wasn't going to hurt her. She finally let him pick her up. He patted her back and told her it would be okay. He carried her downstairs and wished he knew what was wrong with his baby. Alex clung to him like she did as a baby, and he held her close in a tight but gentle grasp. She laid her head on his shoulder and was quiet.

B.A. smiled and carried her around, doing whatever he had to do, including wiping up his milk mess, with her on one arm, the whole time. Awhile later, Alex squirmed and he had to shift her weight. Then, he felt a warm, wet sensation in the crook of his elbow, and on his side. That's when it he realized what it was. Alex had peed all over herself and him. He looked at the back of Alex's head and looked confused. "Alex, why didn't you ask me to let you down so you could have gone to the bathroom to go?" B.A. asked softly and Alex sniffed. "I don't wanna be alone..He'll hurt me if I'm alone...I'm sorry.." Alex replied thinking he was mad at her. She started crying again and squeezed his neck tighter. B.A. felt bad for scaring her, he hadn't meant to. "It's okay, we'll get changed and everything'll be okay." B.A. said patting her back as he carried her back upstairs to her room. Alex continued to cry even after he got to her room and sat her on the floor. He got out dry overalls, (mostly all Alex will wear, she hates anything else almost) and a striped long-sleeved-shirt from her closet, and dry under things from her dresser. He put them on a neat pile on Alex's bed for her.

Alex watched and was going to get undressed when she got really scared again. That feeling of being without clothes in front of anyone grabbed her and she shivered. (Bad man..bad man...) She looked at B.A., whom wasn't watching her, but was examining his army green tee-shirt, and it's new dark green spot. "Will you close your eyes?" Alex looked up at B.A. and asked. He looked up from his shirt and was totally and utterly confused, but he nodded yes and closed his eyes. He turned around with his back to her and she finally took her wet clothes off.

She got her dry clothes on in a flash, and dreaded it when she had trouble with the hooks. Alex, holding her overalls up, walked over to B.A. and pulled on the back of his shirt. "You can open them now." Alex said and he turned back around to her. She held up the strap of her overalls to him and he smiled. "Help." She asked and he hooked them for her. She pulled her shirt down underneath them and reached for B.A. He picked her up and carried her back downstairs with him. It was on the tip of his tongue the whole time to ask her what was wrong, but he feared it would make her worse and stayed quiet.

Face finally got the address to the bounty hunters's new house after having to promise to take a lady out to dinner first. He had heard a rumor that the hunters were out of jail, already, and on probation. The lady confirmed it when he asked her about it casually. This made him angry, because of what they did to Alex, but then he remembered that nobody but Hannibal and Murdock and Maggie knew Alex's secret. He still wasn't sure if what he thought was true, but that same black cloud came running into his mind, the one that read RAPE in big red letters on it's side, like the Good-Year blimp.

Face got back to the van and shook off the cloud in his mind. He climbed back into the driver's seat of the van and closed the door. Hannibal was smoking his cigar. "They're out on probation, at a new house. Do you believe that, Hannibal? We get accused of murder and it takes us damn near 10 years to get pardoned and these guys hurt a kid and get probation? How?" Face asked anger in his voice was apparent. Hannibal tightened his hands up into fists against his legs. "Don't worry Face. They're all going to wish they hadn't gotten out when I get through with them." Hannibal said as Face started the engine. Face looked over at Hannibal and saw the same look Alex had before and during a fight, and smiled. Even in anger the jazz showed through.

A ten-minute drive seemed a lot longer to both men, and they were glad when the van finally got to the driveway of their ol' pals, the bounty hunters. As Face drove up the drive, Hannibal got into the back of the van and unlocked the gun locker. He took out an automatic 9MM and an ak47 for himself, and another set for Face. He checked each gun and was glad B.A. had reloaded each one of them after the last mission. All 4 guns were loaded and ready. Hannbal climbed back to the passenger seat and Face stopped the van behind a set of bushes.

"Here Face, let's go." Hannibal said handing Face his weapons. Face took them and stuck the 9MM down the front of his jeans, much like Alex had during the Borneo mission. He held onto the ak47, ready to blast a hole right through the unsuspecting bounty hunters. They left the van and Hannibal went "through the front door". All 4 of the hunters were watching TV when Hannibal burst in followed by Face, firing his ak47, putting about a hundred bullet holes in the wall behind them as they hit the floor, just barely fast enough to keep from being hit. Face watched as Hannibal ceased fire and was impressed. "Nice, Colonel." Face said Hannibal's usual line and Hannibal smiled back.

Then, Hannibal went over and kicked the youngest in the ribs. His anger had showed through, and it was a part of the jazz that Face rarely saw. "You think it's fun..." hannibal said kicking him again, "To beat up innocent children?" Hannibal said as he walked around the room, looking at all of the scum that lay on the floor. His next move was one that gave the middle aged boy a broken nose. He cried in pain, and grabbed what was left of it.

(That'll teach you to smirk at me, you S.O.B.)..Hannibal thought as he watched him. The man whom had hurt Alex was behind the couch on the floor. Hannibal still didn't know he was the one, but he saw him and went over to him anyway, grabbing him by his ear. Hannibal yanked as hard as he could and soon the guy followed his yanking and twisting lead. He stood up from the floor and Hannibal lead him around the couch, squeezing harder.

"Think you were too old for this to happen?" Hannibal asked as the guy stood there with his head twisted to the side. "My father always told me no matter how big I got, and no matter how old I was, I was never going to be too old for him to take behind the barn. And, you know, I believed him and I live by that rule now, so I think you better start talkin before I have to teach you the old fashioned rule you taught my granddaughter!" Hannibal said, getting angrier as he gave his ear another sharp twist. He yowled, but refused to talk. Face put his hand on the guy's throat, squeezing slightly, forcing him to look into his blue eyes. His eyes had the same anger tint that Alex sometimes got.

"Yeah, you know, the little girl whom you had here, the one who beat you all up, twice, by herself? The little girl you beat like a slave, the one you made look like a zebra painted red? The one you shot and she didn't die? Remember her, jack? If not, when I'm done with you, you will, and you will never forget her. We're only half of her family pal, and when we get done with you and the one of you who did that *Other* thing to her, you, you will be singing soprano for the rest of your pathetic little life! That is, IF I let you live." Face said as he let his anger vent. He took his hand off of the guy's throat and he coughed. The colonel gave Face a nod as he still had the death grip on the guy's ear. Face got the other three up and prodded them outside with the barrel of his gun. They, like Face and the team itself, lived far far out in the country, and it would be just like in space...Nobody could hear them scream.

Hannibal and Face took the four of them on and ended up beating the crap out of them, in a fair fight. Face nor Hannibal even broke a sweat. Face then drugged each one of them, and helped load them into the back of the van. Hannibal kept a gun on them the whole way home, as Face drove them as fast as he dared. (Now we'll find out which one of you hurt Alex, and after a positive id, I'm going to make you suffer you son of a bitch..) Hannibal thought to himself as he watched the sleeping prisoners. Face was hunched over the steering wheel, like crazed road hog, his eyes focused on the dirt of the back country roads. Ten minutes flew, and Face pulled up into the driveway.

Hannibal grabbed one of the prisoners and carried him inside, throwing him onto the family room floor. Face followed and did the same. Face then went back out and got his last after Hannibal came back in with his last. Face had just closed the front door when B.A. heard them coming in and made it from the Kitchen to the family room, carrying Alex, just in time to see Face close the door. B.A. then saw the four bodies on the floor and was about to ask what was going on, when Alex turned her head facing towards the family room and saw Face, the Hannibal, and then the 4 men laying out cold on the floor.

Alex screamed and nearly choked B.A. as she grabbed his neck with a sudden tightness and held it. Alex totally flipped out,screaming, crying, and shaking where just the top three. Alex held onto B.A. with all of her strength. "No! Hold me uncle B.A.! He'll hurt me!! He'll hurt me! Hold me! Go! I don't wanna be in here no more, Please don't let him hurt me!" Alex begging B.A. to protect her. Face shook his head and looked down sadly. He knew he was right, about his earlier premintion about Alex. Tears stung his eyes and he couldn't hold them back. After a few minutes, he wiped them away, thinking no one saw, but his eyes remained bloodshot and puffy. Hannibal had seen Face crying and knew that he knew the truth now.

Alex wet herself all over B.A. again, and he didn't care, he held her tightly anyway. She trembled in fear in his arms, and he gace Hannibal a sad glance. He was still confused, he still hadn't figured it out. Hannibal walked over and took Alex from B.A., which wasn't easy because of how hard she was latched into his neck. Hannibal held her, and din't care when the front of his clothes got wet from her accident. "Listen hon, we have to know which one of them did it, I know it's going to be hard Alex, but you have to tell us. They're all asleep, Face and I gave them a shot like Maggie gave you, except for they won't wake up like you did. They won't hurt you ever again Alex, I promise." Hannibal whispered into her ear. "Can you do it, captain?"

Alex's heart raced. Blood thumped in her temples. Fear had it's hand on her, and she fought it off. Alex slowly nodded, even though she was worried she would wet herself again if one of them even so much as twitched at her. Hannibal put her down in front of him. He kept his hand on her shoulder and followed her as she backed up tight against his legs. Then she ran behind him and grasped his legs from behind as she peeked out around the side of them and looked at the men laying on the floor. The room was quiet, no one even dared to breathe.

Alex looked from each one of the faces and started crying when she spotted him. He was the last one Face had brought in, and he was standing right next to him. Face saw her frozen look and followed her teary gaze. It stopped right on the man beside him. Face pointed down at him and Alex slowly nodded.

"It's him grampa!! HIM!! Hold me!! Pick me up! Pick me up, I'm scared!!" Alex ran back around him in panic. Hannibal picked her up and hugged her. Alex cried into his shoulder and held onto his shirt tightly. "Good girl. It's okay Alex, the team's here. Take a deep breath. That dirtball won't ever hurt you again. I'm going to hand you to B.A. now, so don't be afraid. Let him change your wet clothes and don't worry Alex, none of us will ever hurt you the way that slime did." Hannibal said and Alex nodded as she almost hyperventilated herself out. Hannibal turned and realized B.A. had a huge wet spot next to the one he just got, all over the front of him. B.A. took Alex and carried her once again, back up to her room.

Once they got back to her room, He did the exact same as before. he got her clothes out, a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt with her and Lil'T on the front, and lay it along with the other clothes she'd need on her bed. Then he put her down and turned around and closed his eyes. Alex walked over to her bed and sniffed as she got changed. Then, seconds later, she pulled on his shirt again and he turned back around. He picked her up and she put her head back on his shoulder. Then as he was leaving her room, he heard Alex's soft voice.

"Uncle B.A., I want daddy. I want captain daddy." B.A. listened and patted her gently. "Okay." He said as he carried her down the hall to HM's room. When he walked in, Murdock was on his left side, curled up, sucking his thumb. B.A. smiled but promised himself he wouldn't say anything about it. B.A. walked over across the room to the side of his bed. He reached over and shook Murdock's shoulder.

"Hey Crazyman, someone wants ya." B.A. said and Murdock mumbled something as he rolled over. He laid on his back and opened his eyes. He looked up at a blurry B.A. and sat up rubbing his eyes. B.A. patted his shoulder as he sat Alex on the bed beside him on the bed. Alex Murdock and hugged him. Murdock wasn't awake yet, but he rubbed his eyes as he hugged her back. Murdock felt her shaking and he looked up at B.A., and B.A. had a lost look on his face. Murdock nodded his head and B.A. snapped out of it and looked at him. Murdock silently mouthed, "It's okay, ask the Colonel." and B.A. read it and nodded okay. He patted Alex's shoulder and said, "If ya get scared, just yell an I'll come an getcha." Alex's face was buried in Murdock's shoulder and neck, and her answer came back muffled, but B.A. made out an okay and left to talk to Hannibal.

Murdock held Alex and she sat up a few minutes after B.A. left. Alex took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "He hurt me daddy." Alex said softly. "He hurt me...Here." Alex said holding the front of her jeans, over the zipper. Murdock closed his eyes. "He hurt me an I couldn't fight back!" Alex said, fighting to hold her tears in. Murdock couldn't hold in his tears, and they soaked his face. It hurt him even more to hear it from her.

"I...I...I know muchacha. You'll be okay...I'm gonna...When I get my hands on him I.." Murdock said crying, getting angry. Alex heard his words and jumped at him, grabbing his shirt and shaking him. "No!! No, you can't, he'll hurt you too, please daddy, don't, please don't!" Murdock was shocked at how afraid his daughter was of this man. He held her. "Okay. Okay muchacha, I won't." Murdock replied, not meaning to keep a single word of it. Alex heard his promise and curled up in his lap, sucking her thumb. Murdock kissed the top of her head and held her a few minutes before he got up and carried her with him downstairs.

Murdock came from the stairs and walked into the family room holding Alex. Murdock looked up, and when he saw Hannibal standing over one of the bounty hunters, his blood boiled. Hannibal saw Murdock in the doorway, with a gaze right at the man on the floor, and Hannibal got ready. Face and B.A. got ready as well. They knew they had to form a wall or HM would get revenge the wrong way. Murdock slid Alex down and she stood in front of him, holding onto his khaki pants. He didn't want Alex to see what he was going to do to the man that had taken from her what no man has the right to take. He was going to kill him, or at least make him suffer. He was going to make him pay. "Alex, go out to the birdie. We'll go up for awhile. I'll be there in a minute." Alex stood there and held onto him. She took her thumb out of her mouth. "But daddy, I'm scared!" Alex tried to argue.

"Now Captain!" Murdock stunned Alex with his never heard stern voice. Crying, Alex ran out the back door. Murdock waited until he heard the back door slam, and then he ran right for the bag of infection on the floor. Murdock had the look of murder in his eyes, and as he tried to go by, B.A. grabbed him and held him back. Murdock struggled against B.A. and the sergeant tightened his grip. Murdock wasn't getting away from him this time.

"Leggo a me, B.A.! He hurt Alex! I'm going to make him pay!" HM said as he struggled to get away from B.A. Hannibal walked over and grabbed Murdock's flailing arms, holding them tightly around the wrists. "Captain. Captain. Captain!" He yelled as Murdock fought him. Then Hannibal applied more pressure and Murdock stopped. He looked at Hannibal and Hannibal let up a little.

"Face and I already gave em a good workout. They may never even wake up." Hannibal said and B.A. felt Murdock's body relax and he let go of Murdock. He fell to the floor on his behind like his legs couldn't hold him up and sat with his head in his hands. He started to cry. B.A. put his hand on Murdock's shoulder. "I can't letcha kill him, crazyman, you'd go ta jail fer the rest of your life an Alex wouldn't have no dad." B.A. said and Face nodded in agreement. Murdock suddenly got up and ran out the back door. Hannibal watched him go and hoped he hadn't done the wrong thing by not even letting Murdock at least know which one did it.

Murdock got out the back door and threw up. He puked until he hit the ground on his hands and knees, and gasped for air. Once he caught it, he slammed down on the ground on his behind. He kept crying as he wiped his mouth on his tee-shirt sleeve. He hurt. He suffered. He wasn't sopossed to be the one who suffered. But he felt like his insides were coming apart. His head was spinning, and he threw up again. This time he laid down on the ground and curled into a ball. He cried even if it did make him feel worse.

Face stayed home while Hannibal and B.A. took care of the trash. They drove them, all tied up, to the police station. Hannibal had secretly video taped Alex's ID of the bounty hunter, and had stuck the tape into the slime's coat pocket. On his back, Hannibal put a note. It said, 'I've been a very bad boy. I like to rape innocent little girls. Please lock me up. Merry christmas, the A-Team.' Hannibal left them snoring on the police station door step and a few cops found them seconds after they left and were out of sight. They arrested them and Hannibal smiled as they watched from the alley across the street. After they were taken into custody, B.A. drove them back home.

Face, meanwhile, was glad he had sent Trent to that private boys school for a few months. He was glad Trent wasn't here to find out about what happened to Alex. He sighed and vowed that Trent never would know if he had anything to do with it. Face then suddenly realized Murdock hadn't started the chopper and ran out the back door. Murdock was still laying on the ground, staring straight aheadm sucking his thumb. Face knelt down onto the ground and shook his shoulder. "Murdock? Where's Alex? Murdock?!" Face yelled as Murdock mumbled something, not hearing Face. "Sorry, Murdock." Face said. Then he slapped Murdock across the face. Murdock's head flew sideways and he suddenly grabbed his cheek. He held it in his hand and looked at Face. "Murdock, where's Alex?" Face asked and Murdock looked around. "I..I don't know." He replied as Face helped him up. Then, as Murdock's head cleared some, he heard Alex yell. "The obsticle course." Murdock said and he and Face took off running towards the course.

Alex threw herself through the netting, getting her knees way up, almost to her chin. All she could think about was getting faster and stronger. Her mind was focused on one thing, never getting hurt again. Alex got to the low crawl and hit the ground hard on her belly, and crawled like a snake through it. On the other end, her clothes were sweaty and muddy, but she didn't notice as she scaled the 10 foot wall. She had taken the harder course, not the one Hannibal made her go through everyday, twice. It only had a ten foot wall, where the other one had a 15 foot wall, but that was the only easy part.

After scaling the wall, Alex lunged with her arms at the row of 100 monkey bars, and got across them with determined thoughts in her mind. "Gotta go faster, can't let myself stop." Alex said to herself as she jumped through tires and scaled another 10 foot wall. She finally got to the slider-pulley and grabbed it.

She swung herself forward and flew to the lower part of the line, jumping, she landed right on her feet. She stood there catching her breath, and checked her watch. Her run this morning had been 2 minutes on the normal course. She looked at her watch twice. She had cut her time in half, her watch said one minute exactly. Alex wasn't satisfied, but decided to deal with herself later. She took off running after setting her watch again. She had to break her morning running time of 15 minutes.

Murdock and Face got to the course and saw Alex running towards the stable at top speed. They watched as she disappeared around the back of the stable and then seconds later, came around the other side on her way back. "She's pushing herself too hard. C'mon!" Face said as he grabbed Murdock and ran towards Alex. They caught up to her and Face grabbed her. Alex had seen them coming.

"Face, leggo a me! I'm trying to break my time!" Alex yelled swinging at him. He let her go and she ran off again, mad at him for wasteing the few seconds she needed to break her time. She ran to the course, touched the fence, and turned around. She ran back towards the stables. Face watched her, not moving from the spot where he'd sat down in the field. Murdock suddenly ran and joined Alex. "Don't try an stop me, daddy!" Alex said as he ran beside her. "We're in this together, baby. We're in this together!" Murdock said and she smiled. As they ran side by side, Alex cried. But her tears were happy tears. She would never be alone, never be hurt again. "Never give up Alex, never give up!" Face yelled as they ran past him from the fence. Alex gave him a thumbs up and continued to run with Murdock, on a mission of her own.

Mission get stronger excepted. Engage.



End of chapter 8

chapter 9 being typed!

In other words, TBC!!!