Chapter 13 - London Calling in the Air Tonight

When I was young I thought of growing old, of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road, or only wished what I could be?

Kyrie Eleison, down the road that I must travel.
Kyrie Eleison, through the darkness of the night.
Kyrie Eleison, where I'm going, will you follow?
Kyrie Eleison, on a highway in the light.

~Mr. Mister (1985)

En Route to Langley
1 day before ceremony

Try as he might to convince himself otherwise, two hundred kilometers an hour just wasn't fast enough right now. It felt like 'Red Ball One' all over again - that same heart pounding, ever growing anticipation as each second ticked by. Not a fun kind of anticipation either, like the fluttering excitement when returning home from a mission. No, this was a different; a morbid and heart wrenching kind of anticipation - one he knew all too well, from the tender age of five and onward.

"Where's Mommy?"

"She's gone, H.M.- I'm sorry."

"Gone where, Grandpa, the store? When is she coming home?"

He shook the memory from his head and focused on the ground below. Perhaps this was worse than Red Ball One after all. Wounds scabbed over, blood cells replenish, scars faded over time. Not this. Not...

Not now... and by God if she's already gone, that means she won't get to see B.A. get his pardon.

He choked up at the thought. There were no bags leaking now; only tears. As his vision blurred, the timing couldn't have been worse - as he'd been gauging the distance between the skids and rapidly approaching field of grass. He pulled into a brief hover just in time and after a hard blink to clear his eyes, set her down with ease.

He relaxed his bare white knuckle grip on the controls and cut the engine. While the sound of the bird powering down filled the air, so did his sigh of relief as he tore the headset away. He then glanced at the empty seat next to him and wondered if having his co-pilot here wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all.

"You're not coming?"

"I better not. I couldn't look Hannibal in the eyes right now, knowing... you know. He'd know something was up. Besides, I have to finish writing my speech too."

"Alright, you've got a point."

"Think it's bad...? B.A.?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Promise I won't be too long."

"No, you take all the time you need. Next appointment's at three, and I'll call to re-schedule. Go, help your brother!"

The bird hadn't been fast enough and now neither were his feet as they pounded the grass in double time. Three weeks of running the daily P.T. pathway was showing its benefits, as he was hardly winded after sprinting the entire distance from where he'd landed on the far lawn, all the way to the front door.

He reached for the handle of the glass pane door and it swing inward, and then bolted past the door-accompanying Able and raced upstairs. On reaching the top, he found two of his comrades standing outside the door. Their solemn eyes met as he quickly approached.

"Hey, good to see you, Captain!" Hannibal's appreciative smile followed. "Thanks for coming in for backup."

"No problem, Colonel. Hey, congrats on Aquamaniac Six!" Murdock eyed the closed and presumably locked door. "What's going on with the big guy?"

"Not sure, we've been trying to get him talking since he got back from Chicago." Hannibal solemnly shook his head. "Whatever happened this week, he's taking it real hard."

"Well, I'll try my best to help."

"Hey B.A.," Hannibal called through the door. "Murdock's here. He wants to see you."

". . ."

Murdock took a deep breath and conjured up all the lightheartedness he could manage. "Hey, big guy... I see you finally made it back from Chicago. Everything okay in there?

". . ."

"Hey, you gonna answer? Aw, come on, B.A.," he coaxed further. "We ain't seen each other since Face was in the hospital, 'n I know you've gotta be missing me by now. C'mon, where's my kiss?"

". . ."

"Sergeant!" he commanded. "This is your Captain speaking! Don't you care that I called off of actual work to fly all the way out here just to see your always-smiling face now that you're home?"

". . no, I don't care."

"Hey, that's not fair." Murdock choked up, hearing B.A.'s grief stricken tone, but quickly hid it with a sputtering scoff. "We're brothers, remember?"

"No, we're not, Murdock. Just go away, will ya?"

The big guy hadn't called him crazy and he hadn't called him fool. It was perfectly clear he'd meant it for real this time - and it hurt.

"Not on your life!" Murdock pursed his lips in frustration as Hannibal's gloved hand dropped on his shoulder. Suddenly his mind began to race – as if some of the colonel's jazz had passed over from osmosis itself. He adjusted the brim of his cap and his voice dropped into quite a dismal tone.

"B.A., are you tellin' me... that everything we've been through - from 'Nam; to helping out all those people, through these never-ending missions – all those times we spent trading blood and sweat and tears... are you telling me that doesn't make us true brothers?" He suddenly pounded on the door in frustration. "Are you saying that?!"

"Yeah, and don't hit my door!"

"B.A., I truly don't believe you right now. I don't believe you for even one mudsucking minute!"

"You... callin' me... a liar?"

"You better check those pants for a huge fire, big guy, because that's exactly what I'm calling you - liar!"

"Shut up, fool! You remember what I did to the last guy who called me a liar?"

Face was confused as ever and he looked at Hannibal. "What's he doing?"

"His magic," Hannibal answered back and nipped on his cigar's tip, thoroughly intrigued as Murdock grasped B.A.'s locked doorknob and rattled it vigorously.

"Well, B.A., I just might take back calling you a liar if you open this door, look me in the eyes and tell me to my face that you're not my brother."

"If I open this door, your eyes are gonna look like a raccoon's when they meet my fist!"

"Oh, that's suave. A.J.'ll just love that." Face snorted at the thought, then curiously looked around. "Wait, is she even here?"

"Shh," Hannibal commanded. "Brace yourself for the big finale, he's gonna need backup."

"Yeah, yeah." Murdock easily shrugged off the threat. "That's always your answer, isn't it B.A.? Let's revert back to that old primal instinct and resort to physical violence, right? Well since you don't have the golden cahones to open this door and tell me to my face that I'm not your brother, I'm gonna just stand here and tell you that I love you big guy, and you are my brother." He rested his forehead on the door in finality, adding, "And I love our Mama!"

"Shut up! This is your last warning, Murdock." B.A.'s thunderous yell was probably heard all the way around the other end of the property. "You'd better stop talkin' now!"

"Why should I?" Murdock didn't flinch. "She's my Mama too, remember? Hey, I always send her birthday cards, Christmas cards, thinking of you cards – heck she even knows all about Ace and my new business working in the fine art of aviation typography. You remember that 'Scooter pie' Ace and I brought you over for your birthday? Where do you think we got the recipe?" He pounded on the door once more with all his might. "B.A., I swear on my sanity that I'm going to stand out here and keep rambling on like this until you open this door and tell me what's wrong... or until they declare you insane next!"

Suddenly, the door flew open with a force so great, its hinges creaked with the strain. There B.A. stood - his fiery eyes in destroyer mode.

"Well, finally!" Murdock, who hadn't backed off, looked up and flashed his grin. "Now where's my kiss?"

The next thing he knew, B.A. was lunging straight for him. He winced, bracing himself for whatever manhandling was about to come his way and briefly wondered which it might be this time - the headlock; the collar grab; the two-handed neck squeeze...

It felt like slow motion as he essentially prepared for liftoff, raising his arms just in time as B.A. grabbed around his midsection and drove him backwards against the wall behind them in a football move, then his crushing squeeze followed.

To Murdock's surprise, his feet never left the ground. Instead, he felt the heavy weight of B.A.'s head drop on his shoulder in finality.

Hannibal and Face were at the ready to help pull B.A. off, but Murdock waved frantically for them to stop when he realized he wasn't about to be pulverized. Instead, they now watched as Murdock leaned in to whisper in B.A.'s ear.

"What's wrong, brother?"

"She's... real sick man." B.A.'s reply was barely heard through Murdock's leather covered shoulder. "Some kinda infection spreadin' fast."

Hannibal heaved a sigh of frustration at his revelation. "How long?"

"Don't know. They don't know how long she's got."

"Isn't there anything they can do?" Face curiously asked. "Transfusions or…?"

"No."

Face lowered his solemn eyes. "Damn."

"I'm sorry, B.A." Hannibal laid a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming back like you promised."

"I wasn't gonna come back." B.A.'s displeasure was obvious as he stated the cold fact. "But Mama made me. Told me I ain't gonna blow my one chance at freedom. Said getting my pardon was the only thing I ever need to worry about now."

"Sounds like good advice to me." Face sighed.

"You didn't leave Mama all alone out there in Chicago, did you?" Murdock asked, concerned.

"No, don't worry. I found... someone, uh-" B.A.'s eyes immediately softened at the thought, "Someone to stay with her until I get back."

"Someone?" It was a trio reply in unison as three pairs of eyebrows raised synchronously.

B.A. shrugged, then a hint of amusement crept into his worrisome expression.

"Aren't you going to tell us?" Face egged him on.

"Get outta here. I ain't telling you guys nothing."

Murdock had no intention of letting B.A. off that easily. "Come on, B.A. Hey, just give us a name and I promise I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day."

"Promise?" B.A. eyed Murdock for a moment, then eagerly answered, "Fine, it's Deborah. The rest of the day, fool!"

Murdock was for once, one-hundred percent speechless.

"The Deborah?" Face playfully swatted B.A. on the shoulder. "Whispering Pines?"

B.A.'s half-smile clearly answered. "Yeah, well, when she heard about Mama she came right out. Said she promised to try and keep her spirits up until I got back."

"You finally beat out the Duke... way to go, B.A.!" Hannibal, quite amused at the thought, celebrated with lighting a cigar.

"Aw, Big Guy." Murdock finally found his voice – in the form of a hoarse croak. "I always knew she'd come to her senses one day... just like me, huh?"

"You?" Face knowingly snickered. "Yeah, right, Mr. Parker!"

"Nice one, Face!" Hannibal laughed at the thought, never missing a chance to enjoy a dose of sarcasm.

Face grinned. If Hannibal only knew...

Parker Hangar
4 P.M.
1 day before medal ceremony.

"Say, where's the bird, Junior?"

"H.M. took her up and out for a hop, said he'd be back later."

"Hrrumph."

"What Dave?" She asked, then saw his wrinkles crease even further in a disapproving glance. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You know, you sure give him a lot of free reign for only a week of being in this equal partnership agreement."

"Weren't you the one who told me not to do this alone after that hard landing? This was all your idea!" She playfully poked him in the chest. "And you know he flew Med-vac in the war, I would've thought you of all people would appreciate and understand him for that."

"I do, Junior. I'm just sayin' you be careful." He leaned in closer while fixing his intent eyes on hers. "I know what war can do to the mind," he told her, tapping his temple. "It can twist things... up here. It gets in your sleep."

She lowered her eyes. "I know. You don't have to remind me, Dave."

"Yes, I do, because you don't know, Junior." He firmly told her. "You've never been in the heat of battle where the other guy is purposely trying to knock you outta the sky."

She stared back at him, remembering earlier that year when when the bird nearly rolled end over end, then the deafening explosion and vibration that shook them all to the core.

Oh sh- we're going over!

When she forced herself back to reality, she told him, "Yes, I do, Dave. It's just my fault for not telling you sooner. " She suddenly leaned over, and fiercely hugged him. "I know, and you're right, he does have nightmares sometimes - bad ones."

"They'll never go away, remember that."

"Hey, you know what, Dave? He's been the best partner I could ever imagine - skywriting, are you kidding? It's going to be huge! It was time for Wild Aces to expand beyond just Dad and me anyway, and there's room for Murdock here for as long as he wants to be here."

"Okay, okay, kid. You know I'm just looking out for you, but it's your call. Hmph... speaking of expand," he looked down and playfully poked her midsection through her unzipped jacket. "You been neglecting the P.T. Pathway lately?"

"Captain Magee!" She suddenly heard the familiar twap-twap-twap calling from the distance as she pulled her zipper to her neck. "You're lucky H.M.'s back because I wouldn't want him seeing you eat those words!"

Arm in arm, they both watched the chopper approach from the west. Even Dave had to whistle astoundingly as he studied every smooth gliding movement of the bird as it hovered over the landing pad. Suddenly the tail-rotor spun a few playful three-sixty rotations, then landed smack dab on the landing pad with ease.

"Woo doggy, look at those moves!" Dave whooped in excitement, then shook her enthusiastically. "Wow, he sure knows how to handle 'em, doesn't he, Junior?"

"He sure does, Dave."

"You spin me right round, baby right round - hey, Magoo Magee!" Murdock excitedly called out as he jumped out of the cockpit. "Back fillin' the tanks again, huh? Seems we're using up that go-juice twice as fast with two birds in commission now, ain't we?" He looked around curiously. "Hey, where's the pard-nah? I thought I just saw her out here?"

"She went to answer the phone," Dave pointed to the hangar, then curiously eyed Murdock. "Those were some mighty fine moves you just pulled. Where'd you learn how to do that, anyway?"

"Who me? Aw, it's nothing, all self-taught." Murdock shrugged off the praise, excited to change the subject. "Hey, I'm really looking forward to meeting this squadron of yours. Ace told me all about tomorrow, I can't wait!"

"Likewise, H.M. I'm sure looking forward to trading some war stories with you sometime."

Murdock looked down at the various worn patches on Dave's Air Force flight jacket. "You know, I think it's real special that you've guys still kept in touch like this for so long...after."

"Well, we were at his first medal ceremony and there's no way in pray-tell we'll be missing the second." Dave leaned in closer, his wrinkled eyes telling tales from long ago. "We old salts might've gone our separate ways in the short term, H.M., but the team still sticks together when it really counts, even after all these years."

"I... sure like the sound of that concept." Murdock quietly replied, then swallowed the lump that was now forming in his throat. "Thanks, Dave. Say, I better get back to work, only one hop left today and then we've all got quite a big day tomorrow! Gotta press the 'ol uniform 'n shine the boots, right?"

Dave offered his hand, which Murdock graciously accepted. "See you tomorrow, H.M."

"See you tomorrow, Magoo!"

As the night descended on Chez Parker, things were in full-gear. The nearby radio filled the silence and helped soothe the anticipation of tomorrow, but the unknowns still lingered, like the steam from the hot iron that'd pressed two uniforms this evening.

Instead of putting the finishing touches on the speech scribbled on a nearby ledger pad, curiosity won her over and she was now engrossed in the newspaper Amy had left them about the A-Team's success stories.

"Shower's free - hey! What are you doing?" Murdock stared bug-eyed at her in disbelief. "You shouldn't be reading that!"

"What, why not?"

"You know why! Boy, that's all I need, you catching a whiff of eau de jazz just like Amy and Tawnia..."

"Hey, you never said this was classified! Besides, Amy is a fantastic writer - listen to this..." As he sat down next to her, she read aloud, "New York City officials estimate the total cost of damage for the affected neighborhood to be in the tens of thousands, due to the A-Team's enthusiastic show of force; but the real cost is all the lives saved that day, which is beyond priceless." Now giggling uncontrollably, she closed the paper and set it aside. "Enthusiastic show of force?"

He innocently looked up at the ceiling in response, drumming his fingers. Within a flash, she was atop him, thanks to her very own 'enthusiastic show of force'.

"Hey, you stole my towel, no fair. Whoa there, Tigress, easy girl! Mmph-mayday, hey pull back that throttle! We've gotta big day tomorrow and I thought you had a speech to write?"

"I do." There was a tingle of familiarity in her sparkling eyes as she leaned over and whispered, "Later..."