The scene played out in slow motion. Ian leveled the gun at Face and pulled the trigger. Before the bullet was released, Cade pushed Ian's arm up, sending the shot into the wall behind Face's bed. BA had used his body to shield Face, who was still in the throes of the nightmare.
Hannibal pulled his pistol from the waistband of his pants and pointed it at Ian.
"Drop it. Now."
Ian held onto the gun, and turned to face Hannibal. "I can't. I've got to kill you and Peck. I've got to make Father proud."
Cade took a step toward Ian. "C'mon Son, put it down. It's going to be okay."
Ian held his gaze on Hannibal as he spoke to Cade. "No. I've got to do this."
Hannibal took one step toward Ian. "Look. I don't want to hurt you, but I will shoot if you don't put down your gun."
Ian stepped back a couple of steps. He shifted his aim from Hannibal to Face. Back and forth, his eyes darting wildly.
Murdock stood, the sound of the bullet bringing him back to reality. Frankie walked slowly over to him. Together they walked toward Ian.
Seeing them out of the corner of his eye, Ian cocked the gun. "Stay back! I'll kill him!"
Frankie and Murdock stood still.
Cade spoke in a soothing voice, "Ian, put the gun away. Come on, now. Just put the gun away."
Face began to quiet down, oblivious to the scene playing out before him. BA loosened his grip. He dropped his right hand to his side, and bent down to retrieve his gun from his side pocket. He leveled it at Ian. "Drop it."
"Okay, okay. You win." Ian said. His grip on the gun relaxed, but he continued to hold on it.
Hannibal and BA approached Ian. Hannibal was on his left, BA on his right.
Cade took another step toward Ian. "Come on now, son. Give me the gun."
Ian's grip tightened on the gun. He thrust it to his own head.
Hannibal and BA froze.
Cade continued talking to Ian. "Come on, Ian. Put the gun down. We'll work this out. Just put the gun down."
A tear slid down Ian's cheek. "I'm so sorry, Cade." He squeezed his eyes shut. Suddenly, he thrust out his arm and pointed the gun back at Face. He pulled the trigger, but not before Cade stepped in front of the gun. Cade fell to the floor.
A split second after the shot went off, Hannibal pulled the trigger of his own gun. The bullet hit Ian in the chest, blood turning his blue shirt to crimson.
Hannibal kicked Ian's gun away, and Murdock picked it up off the floor. BA knelt beside Cade and pulled him to the sitting position. Cade held onto his left arm, blood running between his fingers. He tried to scoot on the floor toward Ian.
"Somebody get my bag. And some towels. I've got to put pressure on this wound," ordered Cade.
Hannibal motioned for Frankie to go to the kitchen to retrieve Cade's bag and towels. "Cade, you're hit."
Cade looked up at Hannibal. "It's not bad. It just grazed me, that's all." He turned back to Ian. " I've got to stop this bleeding."
XXXXXXXXX
"Okay. Two shots. Let's go."
The driver drove the car to the house. Stockwell got out, accompanied by Abels 5, 17, and 23.
They stealthily made their way through the garage and opened the door leading to the kitchen. They saw Frankie opening a drawer, getting a stack of dishtowels.
Stockwell motioned to Abel 5. Frankie's back was to the men as he turned to retrieve Cade's medical bag off the countertop. Abel 5 used the butt of his gun to hit the back of Frankie's head, rendering him unconscious.
"Cuff him," said Stockwell. "Then stay in here and stand guard."
XXXXXXXXXX
BA processed what Cade had just said. The bullet only grazed him. If the bullet hadn't stopped in Cade's arm, then where was it? BA stood and raced back to Face. BA could see blood staining the sheets covering Face. "Hannibal, Face has been shot!"
Hannibal ran to BA and Face, Murdock behind him. The bullet appeared to have lodged in Face's left shoulder. Face's eyes fluttered open. "Hannibal, BA…what happened?"
"Face, you've been shot. I want you to stay still." Hannibal turned to Murdock. "Ball up this sheet and put pressure on his wound."
Murdock pulled the sheet and bunched it together, then applied pressure to Face's shoulder.
Cade was trying to staunch the bleeding from Ian's chest. "Somebody come apply pressure here and I'll check on Templeton. Where are the towels and my bag?"
Hannibal's head shot up. Frankie should have been back in here by now. Hannibal headed toward the kitchen.
"Gentlemen. You may drop your weapons now." Stockwell hissed.
Hannibal stopped in his tracks. "Go to hell, Stockwell."
"My, my Colonel. I hardly think that's the proper way to speak to me." Stockwell motioned at Abel 17, who promptly walked to Face's bedside, gun drawn. "If you don't put down your weapons, I'll kill Peck."
Hannibal released the grip on his gun, then set it on the floor. BA followed suit.
Stockwell continued, "Now, I want you to stand against the wall over there," he motioned to the far wall of the atrium.
"But I've got to put pressure on his wound," said Murdock.
"Captain, if you don't step away from him, I will give him a fatal wound." Stockwell smiled.
Hannibal, BA, and Murdock backed up against the wall. Abels 17 and 23 had their weapons drawn, guarding them.
He walked over to Cade, who was trying desperately to stop the blood seeping from Ian's chest. "Dr. Bentley, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hunt Stockwell, Ian's father. I've heard a lot about you."
Cade looked up at Stockwell, "He's dying. Let me treat him, please."
Stockwell laughed. "I don't think you'll want to do that when I tell you what he did. You see, Ian killed your son. Stabbed him in the heart. Then he impaled him with a tree branch and crashed his car into some trees."
Cade's face paled. "You're lying. Ian would never do something like that."
Stockwell continued. "It's the truth. He called me after he did it. He wanted to make sure the death wasn't investigated too thoroughly. You see, I'd helped him out before, when he murdered his best friend from medical school. Seems he was jealous of the poor man's relationship with his father."
Ian's eyes opened halfway. He saw Cade bending over him and felt him pressing against his chest. He looked up and saw his father staring down at him. "Father, I tried…..I really did…"
Stockwell frowned. "You failed, Ian. Just like I thought you would."
A trickle of blood escaped from Ian's mouth. Cade turned his attention to Ian. "Is it true, Ian? Did you kill my son?"
A tear made it's way down Ian's cheek as he weakly nodded his head. "I'm…sorry….Cade. I….just wanted…..you to…..love me….like David. Wanted….to….make you….proud."
Hannibal heard the conversations going on, but never took his eyes off Face. Face was rocking his head back and forth. He brought his right hand up to his injured left shoulder.
Stockwell knelt next to Ian. "You can't even die like a man. You're a sniveling coward. I'm ashamed to have you as a son." He stood slowly.
Cade's mind was wrestling with anger and pity at the same time. Ian closed his eyes and his breathing became ragged, his voice a whisper. "My…car. Diary.…..I'm…..sorry."
Cade bent down to Ian's ear. "It's okay now, son. Go to sleep."
Ian opened his eyes one last time and smiled.
Stockwell motioned to Cade with his gun. "Okay, he's dead. Now you go join the others."
Cade rose slowly, then walked over and stood next to Murdock at the far end of the wall.
Hannibal reached in his pocket and pulled out his cigar.
Stockwell smiled. "Yes, go ahead and smoke Smith. It's going to be your last. You know, it's really a pity that our relationship has to end this way. I have nothing against Baracas, Santana, or Murdock. And the doctor here is truly an innocent bystander. But, some things can't be helped."
Hannibal took the cigar out of his mouth. "You can at least tell us why, Stockwell."
"Yes, I guess you do deserve an explanation, Smith." Stockwell walked toward Hannibal and the men. "I don't like you. You're like a thorn in my side. You cost me a small fortune when Chou and Angel were arrested. Losing is not something I accept lightly – something you and I have in common."
Hannibal paused. "Okay. But why Face? He's been no threat to you."
"Ah, but you see, Peck is your Achilles heel. If he suffers, you suffer." Stockwell glanced at Face, who was lying with his hand still pressing against his shoulder, eyes clenched shut, obviously in pain. He turned back to Hannibal. "I knew if you couldn't prevent Peck from dying, it would destroy you." Stockwell smiled and turned back to face Hannibal.
Hannibal watched as Face slowly snaked his hand under the pillow. Face's eyes opened briefly and locked onto Hannibal's. He blinked three times.
Hannibal spoke, "You're probably right. Face is like a son to me. Not that you know what a relationship like that feels like." Hannibal glanced down at Ian's body. "You know, Stockwell, I could teach you a few things. One, you should really learn to lighten up. Too much stress can make you cranky." Hannibal stole a glance at BA and Murdock before continuing. "Two, you might want to wear looser underwear. You know what they say about wearing it too tight." Hannibal looked at Face. "Three, you might want to say goodbye."
Face pulled Murdock's gun from under his pillow and fired at Stockwell, the bullet slamming into his brain, killing him instantly. At the same time, BA and Murdock rushed Abels 17 and 23, knocking them to the floor and retrieving their weapons. Hannibal rushed to Face's side and retrieved the gun, training it on the Abels. "BA, go check on Frankie."
BA entered the kitchen just as Frankie kicked a distracted Abel 5 in the back. BA grabbed his gun, then reached in the man's suit pocket for the handcuff keys. After freeing Frankie from the cuffs, they both walked back into the atrium, BA pulling Abel 5 by the tie around his neck.
Murdock and Hannibal tied the Abels wrists together and pushed them onto one the couches. BA did the same with Abel 5. Cade had immediately gone to Face's bedside and checked his shoulder wound. The bullet had passed through, causing minimal damage.
Stockwell lay on the floor three feet from his son. Both men facing each other, but neither one seeing the other.
XXXXXXXXX
The A-Team and Cade Bentley stepped out of the federal courthouse slowly. BA held onto Face's arm, helping to keep him steady. Reporters immediately began to surround them, shoving microphones to their faces, shouting questions. A crowd of spectators cheered.
"What did the President say to you when he issued your pardons?"
"Had General Stockwell removed any other parts of the original diary?"
"Is it true that General Stockwell was the mastermind of the bank robbery?"
"Will you be going to back to Los Angeles?"
"How do you feel about the military now?"
Hannibal raised his hand to silence the reporters. "I'm going to make a statement." Hannibal pulled a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and read. "First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Cade Bentley for saving the life of Lt. Peck, and in a sense, saving us all." Hannibal turned to face Cade. "Thank you."
Hannibal continued reading, "We've been on the run for 15 years. During that time, we helped a lot of people. But a lot of people helped us as well. People who believed in us. Believed in our innocence. To those people we say thank you. We love this country. We support our troops. We do not blame the military for the misguided judgments of a few men. We are looking forward to returning to Los Angeles as free men. It was a long time coming."
Hannibal and the men descended the steps slowly and approached a waiting limousine.
Cade offered his hand to Hannibal. "Well, keep an eye on my patient Hannibal. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call."
Hannibal returned the handshake. "Same goes for you, Cade. I don't have the words to thank you for what you did for Face, for us all."
Cade turned to leave. Face reached out to him, putting his hand on his arm. "Cade, uh, listen. Thanks for everything. Not just the medical care, but for helping me to see that I do have a family. If you ever need anything, or just need to talk, you know how to reach me."
Cade pulled Face into an embrace, "Thanks, son." He released his hold on Face and wiped a tear from his eye. He waved to the men, then turned and worked his way through the crowd.
Hannibal tugged on Face's sleeve. "Let's go, Face. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go home."
Just as they were about to enter the limousine, a reporter approached them. "You've just been pardoned by the President of the United States. Is there anything you'd like to say?"
Hannibal reached into his pocket, looking for a cigar. Face reached into his own pocket and produced one, handing it to Hannibal, who promptly lit it. He looked at his men. They were looking at him, grins on their faces, anticipating….knowing what Hannibal's answer would be.
"Yes, there is one thing I'd like to say. I love it when a plan comes together." Hannibal smiled.
The End