Keeper of the Truth
Disclaimer: I do not own The A-Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A-Team.
Chapter 2
Two days passed, days spent in more preparation for the infiltration and assault on the mountain fortress of the Keepers of the Truth. When Hannibal decided they were finally ready to begin the operation, Face found them a couple of rooms at a two star motel on Palmdale Boulevard in Palmdale.
Not Face's first choice. He would have preferred something more luxurious but they had to keep a low profile before, during and after the operation.
They set off for Palmdale when the sun was just peeking over the horizon. Along the way, Face secretly scrutinized his best friend. Something was different about him. It was sending up red flags in the con man's mind.
Murdock's not acting crazy or fidgety or the other things he is before a mission. He's all business. Is he more nervous about this than he lets on? Maybe sending him in alone isn't such a great idea.
As B. A. drove, the Colonel talked.
"You'll have to convince the shopkeeper you've recently lost someone you love."
Murdock nodded slowly, meditating on the instruction. "Like a parent 'r . . . grandparents? 'N' that's pushed me int' a search for deeper meanin'. Right?"
Face winced at the thought. He knew enough about the Captain's background to know that his mother died while he was very young. Nobody seemed to know about the status of his father. The grandparents who raised him didn't get an opportunity to see him when he came home from the war. Both of them died in the early 70s while Murdock was still in Nam.
Hope Hannibal doesn't let him use any of those options as a cover story. Who knows how much of the way my buddy is came from that kind of loss in his life? He doesn't need to relive or remember any of that. Not when his life's in danger.
In the next statement the Colonel dispelled some of Face's anxiety.
"Right, but I was thinking the loved one could be a wife. You'll also have to hint that you have some property that has some value. You want the shopkeeper to believe Barger will be interested in it. If our client is right, the store owner will persuade you to meet with 'someone' she knows that can help answer your questions." Hannibal turned in his seat to look at the pilot. His face didn't display emotion but Face noted a small flicker of concern in his gaze.
Hannibal sees it, too. He sees something isn't right. So why isn't he letting me be the one infiltrating the compound?
"Okey dokey, a wife it is then. What if they try 'n check my story?"
"Your fake identification will check out. Right, Lieutenant?" Hannibal glanced at Face.
"I can come up with a driver's license and I have a female . . . " He cleared his throat at his friends' amused expressions. ". . . acquaintance who gave me a photo of herself. You can put it in your wallet and pretend she was your wife. That leaves the matter of whether Barger and his thugs will contact the records office to see if Murdock is who he says he is. If we can redirect any outgoing phone calls to the van . . . " Face looked at B. A.
"Should be no problem, Colonel. An' I'm working on a pair of glasses the fool can wear that'll keep 'im in touch wit' us." The Sergeant frowned at Murdock's raised eyebrows and light smirk. "I don' wanna hear a buncha singing over the wire. It ain't for entertainin'."
The pilot shrugged and focused again on Hannibal's instructions. Both Face and B. A. exchanged worried glances in the rear view mirror. It wasn't like Murdock to let a comment like that slide by so easily.
"Nice, B. A. If you can at least make it so Murdock can talk to us, he can describe what he sees. It'll make our job easier." Hannibal focused on the pilot again. "It may take a couple of days to persuade Barger that you're genuine. A group like that will be watching for anyone sent in to rescue a loved one now that one of their recruits managed to get away."
"I'll be genuine alright. He won' see through me," Murdock promised, a dark edge to his voice, one which caused Face and B. A. to exchange surprised glances again. "Then what?"
Face hadn't heard that tone very often. It slipped out sometimes when one of them was seriously wounded and the remaining team members caught the goon who caused the injury. It sounded out of place coming from Murdock.
"After you've earned Barger's trust, find a way to be assigned to work near the northern section of the compound. From the photos, it looks like the weakest area and also the easiest climb for us." Hannibal ignored Face's groan and continued his instructions.
Murdock shifted his position in the back seat of the van and leaned closer to hear the Colonel. He ignored his buddy's muttered protest. Even B. A. noticed the hardened expression on the pilot's face as he listened.
"They have some sort of garden in that spot. I saw people working in it. There's a tool shed near there that might provide some cover for us to get through that fence. That's where we'll be mounting our attack. B. A., your job is to ram the front gate and create a secondary diversion as soon as we get inside."
"'N' what do I do, Hann'bal?" Somberly, Murdock waited for the Colonel's orders.
"You will need to be creative and see if you can figure out a way to draw attention to the center of the compound and away from the front gate and the northern section of the fence." Hannibal analyzed the younger man's reaction.
Murdock smiled, but the smile chilled Face inside. He decided cold and calculating was not a look he liked to see on his best friend.
"I can be very creative when I hafta be." The pilot nodded to himself, his gaze distant. "Very creative." He sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest, disengaging himself from any further conversation. After a few seconds, noticing both B. A. and Face glancing at him, he closed his eyes as well.
Twenty minutes of silence followed until B. A. signaled a turn and parked in front of the Seven Palms Motel.
"We're here, guys," he grunted, shutting off the engine and pocketing the keys.
oooooo
Face and Murdock shared a room with Hannibal and B. A. in the next room. While Hannibal, B. A. and Face ate a late supper, Murdock quietly slipped away from their motel for an early evening run.
They were used to that sort of thing with the pilot but this time it seemed wrong.
"Fool's too quiet, Hannibal," B. A. grumbled. He reached to grab a huge slice of pepperoni pizza.
"You usually wish he'd stop talking," Hannibal pointed out. His gaze flickered toward the door as if he could summon Murdock by doing so. The Captain had been gone for forty minutes and it was beginning to make him uneasy.
"It's almost like he's practicing to be a CIA agent or something. He's distant . . . focused on something we don't see. When he looks at us, it's like he isn't seeing us. But at the same time, it's like he sees everything, like he's hyper-alert." Face took a swallow of beer and grimaced. "And it started when you decided to use him to get to Barger."
"We need him to have his mind on playing the role of a bereaved husband. Don't we?" Hannibal stood up and walked over to the window, nudging back the drape to peer outside into the darkness.
B. A. put down his half-eaten pizza slice and scowled. "I gotta get some tools from the van. Gonna fine tune those glasses. Wanna make sure they work good." He clomped over to the door and opened it.
Glowering at Hannibal, he added, "We can't be blind goin' in there. One of us might get killed."
As soon as the Sergeant left, Face shook his head and finished his beer. "I'd love to stay and talk to you a bit more but I think I'd better make sure Murdock's fake ID is ready. I assume we begin tomorrow?"
The Colonel didn't respond for a few seconds. Then, dropping the curtain back in place, he turned from his vigil at the window. "He's been gone too long. He should have been back by now."
Face stood and slowly, contemplatively, closed the lid of the carry-out pizza box. "Do you want B. A. and me to go out in the van and look for him?" he murmured, his eyes averted from Hannibal.
"No." The older man said the single word in such a harsh tone that Face sharply glanced up at him. For a moment Hannibal's expression belied something he wasn't willing to admit out loud. Then the Colonel assumed a more relaxed demeanor, even if the con man could see through the act.
"He just needed time to think. He knows he has to be ready for tomorrow." Hannibal walked over to search his duffel bag for something. Pulling out a book, he went over to the bed and sat with his back against the headboard.
"Right." Face watched as the older man opened the book to a spot a third of the way and placed a newspaper clipping being used as a bookmark on the bedside table. The con man noted the news story was about the team. The bold headline proclaimed 'A-Team Responsible For Shutting Down Gambling Ring'. He opened his mouth to ask about it, then decided against it.
He faked a yawn and said, "Well, I'll get that ID done so you can check it before Murdock has to use it tomorrow. See you in the morning, Colonel."
Hannibal nodded, putting on a false impression that he was absorbed in what he was reading. "Yeah, in the morning."
Face smiled to himself as he left the room, almost bumping into B. A. on the way out. Noting that the black man didn't seem to have anything in his hands, the con man asked in a low voice, "Did you figure out where he went?"
"Told ya I was goin' out ta get some tools ta fix those glasses. What makes ya think I was lookin' for the fool?" B. A. tried to brush past Face.
"Because unless you're hiding those tools in your pockets, you weren't in the van getting anything." The con man would have teased the Sergeant a little more if both of them weren't worried about Murdock.
B. A. cast a searching look over his shoulder. "Forgot."
"Yeah, right. I'm worried about him, too, B. A. I'll talk to him when he gets back. He probably did what Hannibal said and found some quiet park bench or playground to sit and think for a while." Face was certain he could see a shadow moving a chair to the window of the room he just left. That would be Hannibal, he thought to himself.
"If it'll make ya rest easier, Faceman," the Sergeant grunted as he opened the door to his room. He peered one more time into the darkness before entering and closing the door behind him.