Same notes as the previous chapters. Don't own the team. All other characters sprang from my twisted imagination.

****

The golden sun sank gracefully below the darkening horizon as the convoy drove along a lonesome stretch of a secondary road about an hour outside of Phoenix. The desert sands glowed neon orange in the fading light, cut up at random intervals by the shadows of the scattered trees. Alia's black Mustang was now dusty beige from the road grit, but the occupants didn't care. Murdock and Alia were too busy admiring the sunset and enjoying one another's company.

"¡Qué hermosa!" Alia sighed. "I love the desert out here! No cars, no high rises or smog to block the sky…just fresh, clean air."

"Not much of a city slicker, are you?" asked Murdock.

"Actually, I'm originally from New York City, but I don't have fond memories of it," she answered.

"And you're not Greek either," the pilot deadpanned.

"You're right. I'm actually Puerto Rican. I use a lot of Spanish at times, giving myself away."

"You also roll your R's at times and your skin tone is too brown to be Greek." Murdock turned to face Alia and asked, "Why are you always pretending to be somebody else?"

"Why do you do it?" Alia countered, watching the road.

Murdock quickly changed the subject. "I'm gettin' hungry. How 'bout we get some grub?"

"Sure," the brunette replied. "Call the others on the portable phone and see if they want to stop too. There's a great little diner I passed on my way to LA up the road about a mile."

The pilot dialed the van's car phone and Hannibal answered. It had been at least three hours since the group last stopped so the colonel readily agreed to dinner. He couldn't figure out how Alia could drive five hours straight like she boasted at the last rest area. Then again, Hannibal thought, I'm not as young as I used to be.

Face scowled from the back seat. He hated stopping on this mission. At every rest area, Alia would shamelessly flirt with Murdock in front of him. Murdock let most of it roll off, but Face hated how their client felt the need to rub the fact that she preferred the pilot in his face. The lieutenant prided himself on the number of women he could attract like flies to honey. Seeing this woman shove his time-honed talent away like some cheesy pickup line from some amateur insulted and angered him more than his teammates knew. If Alia had been just a little bit more tactful, Face would've been more understanding. Maybe it was for the best Alia didn't like him. After all, she had the manners of a marine in wartime. But Murdock deserves better, he thought. Of all people, I should know.

BA parked the van next to the Mustang outside a weather-beaten diner called Murphy's Place. The graying paint peeled off of every surface of the building and the windows on closer inspection were coated in dirt rather than made of frosted glass. The rest of the surrounding downtown looked the same as the shabby restaurant.

"Looks like this place has seen better days," Hannibal mused as he stretched beside the van.

Face climbed out of the back and groaned, "Kinda like me."

Alia hopped out of the Mustang and stretched seductively on the fender. "Don't worry, guys," she smiled as Face glared at her. "What this place lacks in looks, it makes up for in food."

"Good 'cause I'm starvin'!" Murdock exclaimed and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"The fool's got a point," said BA. "Let's eat."

The motley crew of five filed into the diner. The interior wasn't nearly as run down as the outside, but it still looked like it hadn't been renovated since it was built in the '50s. A few of the locals sat scattered around the single room, one of which was chatting with an attractive blonde waitress behind the counter.

My day is starting to look up, Face smiled and straightened his tie. He took a stool two down from the middle-aged man who was talking to the waitress and flashed her a huge Templeton Peck patented grin.

The waitress returned Face's smile. "Howdy!" she greeted the five newcomers. "My name's Susan. What can I get ya folks?"

Hannibal sat next to Face and stared intently at Susan with his ice blue eyes. "Pardon me, miss, but have we met before?" the colonel asked. "You seem awfully familiar."

Susan studied Hannibal then answered, "Nope, I don't think so. I would remember if I'd seen so many handsome strangers before. We don't get many visitors from outta town here. So whaddaya all want?"

Face glanced at the menu on the counter. "How about an order of spaghetti, coffee, and what time you get off tonight, please," he answered coyly.

Susan laughed, "Whenever you're done eatin', sweetheart!" She moved onto Hannibal's order, followed by Alia, Murdock, and BA.

After the waitress walked behind to the kitchen, Face leaned on the counter. "See?" he said to Alia. "There's a real woman who finds me charming."

Alia shrugged. "And your point is?"

"What do you mean what's my point? I am a ladies' man, contrary to what you seem to believe."

"No, what I meant is that you won't know what to do with Susan once you get her alone."

Face leapt to his feet, eyes blazing. "That's it!" he yelled at a smiling Alia. The group had the undivided attention of the whole restaurant, but Face didn't notice. All he wanted was to be able to wipe that stupid grin off the brunette's smug face. "I've never hit a woman before, but you've asked for it! Get outside so we can settle this once and for all!"

"Are you challenging me to a duel, señor?" asked Alia as Face removed his sport coat and rolled up his sleeves.

"If he isn't, we sure are," answered a husky male voice from the door. The A-Team and Alia turned to face the newcomer. The speaker was a boxlike man, dressed in a black suit, who filled the entire doorway. Two smaller, yet muscular men dressed in identical black suits flanked him. All three sported shaved heads and Ray Bans. Their whole presence screamed government employees.

"Oh, damn it to hell!" Alia muttered. "These guys are my boss's goons! Thanks for telling them where we're going, Hannibal."

Hannibal flashed the brunette his "on the jazz" grin. "Don't worry," he murmured back. "It's all part of my plan."

The leader of the trio caught sight of the brunette and smirked. "Ah, Miss Alia Benekopoulos!" he exclaimed, his words oily. "We've been looking all over for you. Your employer, Mr. Jones, is very concerned about your sudden departure. He sent us to bring you back home to Las Cruces."

"The fuck he did, Benito!" Alia shot back. "Gordon Jones sent you three to bury me out in the desert. Well, it ain't gonna happen because I got myself some hired help."

Hannibal drew himself up to his full height and lit a cigar. As he sauntered over to Benito and his lackeys, the other three members of the A-Team glanced at each other as if they were all thinking the same thing: Hannibal's on the jazz. This isn't gonna be good.

"If you slime balls have an argument with the lady over there, you're going to have to deal with us," Hannibal said coolly as he puffed on his Cuban. "You see, we're her new friends."

"Uh, Hannibal," Face interrupted, "that's debatable. Let these G-men take Alia and do whatever they want to her."

Murdock elbowed his friend in the ribs. "Knock it off, Faceman," the pilot murmured. "You can settle your score with Alia later. Right now, you know the drill for when the colonel's on the jazz."

Face hated to admit it but Murdock was right. The lieutenant nodded in agreement and took his usual spot flanking Hannibal. Murdock and BA followed suit. Face and Murdock made sure that the big black man was between them and the government spooks.

The man Alia called Benito sneered at the A-Team as if he could flick them away with his pinky. They're all alike, thought Hannibal. They always believe they're invincible until we yank the rug out from under 'em and jam it down their throats.

"Go back to your dinner, gentlemen," Benito said coolly. "This is none of your business."

Hannibal flicked ash from his cigar onto Benito's polished black shoes. "You don't seem to understand," the colonel replied as the thugs glared at him. "Scumbags like you are our business. You see, we're sort of the garbage men around here, and our job is to get rid of the trash. Now I suggest you leave before we take you out and things get ugly."

"You have a big mouth," growled Benito.

"I've been told I have that problem," Hannibal shot back.

"Let's see if you can back yourself up," Benito replied. He punched Hannibal square in the jaw before the colonel had a chance to defend himself.

Hannibal flew backwards and crashed into a table. BA quickly advanced on Benito while Face and Murdock desperately wracked their brains for a means to tackle the other two henchmen. Benito punched BA, but of course the black man just glared back and socked the g-man in the face with a gold-encrusted fist.

Murdock didn't zigzag away fast enough and got tossed by one of the goons into a booth. Face, on the other hand, climbed on a chair and jumped on the other one. It was hard to tell who got hurt worse.

The diner emptied as the brawl ensued, the locals not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Susan returned from the kitchen to investigate the crashes, but Alia jumped over the counter and pulled the waitress down with her. The two women scooted under the counter, Susan rubbing her head from where Alia grabbed her.

"Hey, Magdalena!" Alia greeted Susan. "How's the diner business treating you?"

"Stop calling me that, amiga," the blonde scolded. "I changed my nom de plume to Maggie Coltraine for the LA end of this job because I'm about as Hispanic as that mean looking black dude you're with."

"My neighborhood adopted you as an honorary Puerto Rican, Mags," Alia replied.

"Whatever," Susan a.k.a. Maggie Coltraine sighed. "How's the plan going down so far?"

"More or less without a snag. These guys are as predictable as Colonel Decker said. You can expect us to arrive in Las Cruces late tomorrow. The A-Team will hit Alliance Tech within two days of our arrival. I'll hook up with Lynn Wu 'Lee' and Jill in New Mexico and give them exact details."

"So what are your plans for tonight?" asked Maggie. "I could think of all sorts of nasty things to do with those hunks! Why couldn't I get this part of the assignment?"

"Because I'm the leader, Mags," Alia replied. "As for tonight, I hope to at least suck face."

"Oh, I'd love to suck on him!" the blonde exclaimed. "Or Murdock, or even Hannibal for that matter."

"I didn't exactly mean it that way, Mags."

"I know, but think of it as a double entendre with two sexual meanings."

"You have a filthier mind than any sex-crazed man I've ever met!" the brunette exclaimed.

Maggie changed the subject. "Y'know, Jill would look cute with BA there."

Alia threw the blonde an incredulous look. "Jill's a lesbian, Mags."

"I think she just says that to play hard to get." Maggie replied defensively.

One of the A-Team hurled a thug behind the counter. He tried to sit up, but wavered a bit from the thrashing he received. Maggie grabbed an empty beer bottle out of the trash bin beside her and smashed it on the thug's forehead. The man collapsed on the floor with a loud plop, unconscious.

Alia surveyed the damage and muttered to her cohort, "Looks like we should join the party."

"Righto, old chum!" replied Maggie as she sprang out of their hiding place and over the counter to join the fray.

Alia grumbled, more to herself than her friend, "I'll get you later for that one, Mags!" and followed suit.

However, by this time the team had knocked out Benito and his other man and were dragging them to the door.

"Damn! I missed all the fun!" Alia whined.

Face looked up from pulling on one of the thug's arms. "That's what you get for cowering behind the counter," he shot back.

"I was not cowering!" the brunette retorted. "I was merely protecting your girlfriend from having to watch you get your ass kicked."

"Oh, my God!" Maggie, who was back to being Susan the waitress, moaned as she surveyed the wreckage. "What am I going to do? You guys decimated this place!" She turned to Face. "You have an ice cube's chance in hell of going out with me tonight now, bucko!"

Hannibal stepped between the blonde and the lieutenant, rubbing his purpling jaw. "Hold on a minute, miss," he interrupted. "We didn't start the fight; these men here did. We were just trying to get them out of your diner before too much damage could be done. We're sorry for the harm they caused. I'd suggest calling the police and having these men arrested for what they've done to you."

"Well, why didn't you say that in the first place?" Susan replied. "I'll go call Roy down at the sheriff's office right now. Why don't you boys hang around until he gets here?"

"No thanks," Hannibal interjected. "We'd better go find a motel before it gets too late."

"Oh, there's one about a mile down the road called The Desert Inn," said Susan. "It's a great little place with a pool, cable, and cheap rates."

Hannibal thanked the waitress for her help and BA, Murdock, and Alia followed him outside to the vehicles. Face waited for a minute and asked Susan, "So can I expect to see you tonight?"

The blonde smiled. "We'll see, handsome."

Face smiled in return and followed his friends outside. As the Mustang drove off ahead of the van, Maggie thought to herself, Phase four of the web is now complete. Now onto Phase five.

TBC…