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 35

As the telephone rang for the fourth time that afternoon, Face sighed and glared at it.

B. A. was on his way back from dropping Hannibal off at his apartment and he was all alone. He didn't mind that. Face needed time to think through the plan for that night. But he couldn't stop remembering the last time he saw his buddy.

He didn't even look back. He didn't know us anymore.

Shaking his head in irritation at the phone, he squelched the memory once again.

"Stop ringing already," he muttered. "Don't want to talk to you."

He knew who it was who was so insistent on speaking with him. The only person other than his own team members that had access to this number was Dani and right now he didn't want to have the phone slammed in his ear again. He regretted giving her the number now but at the time he thought she could better relay any message from Murdock that way.

Who was I kidding?

Murdock hadn't asked her about any of them and hadn't needed anything from them.

Maybe Richter and Dani don't realize how important we are to Murdock's sanity. They probably think he needs to be rid of us before he'll be rid of the flashbacks and nightmares.

That thought convinced the con man even more how important their plan for that night was.

If she gets even a small hint that we're going to spring Murdock tonight she'll make sure she's waiting to stop us. Can't let that happen, can I?

After the eighth ring, the caller hung up. Face sighed in relief.

Let her think what she wants. We're as worried as she is about him. And he does need us.

Satisfied with his decision to avoid conversation with the nurse, he strolled out to the deck of the beach house. The gentle ocean breeze refreshed his spirits . . .

. . . until the phone started ringing again.

Gritting his teeth, the con man took the steps to the beach and set off through the sand to find a place where he wouldn't be tempted to pick up the receiver.

And if it's still ringing when B. A. gets back, let him talk to her. Maybe she won't bite his head off.

oooooo

Murdock maneuvered the Huey over a lush greenery of towering treetops, intent on dodging enemy fire should it come and scanning what he could see ahead of him for a particular location.

He felt like he had been here, done this, before and he wasn't sure why. Shrugging, he chalked it up to deja vu and continued to search the landscape.

"I gotta be nuts, this far north 'n' no idea what I'm lookin' for." He said the thought out loud and then laughed self-consciously, glancing at the empty seat where his invisible co-pilot sat. "No 'fficial orders 'n' no plan. What was I thinkin'?"

He felt his knee throb with a pain he hadn't known since his captivity in the POW camp. He grimaced, remembering how the guards clubbed him with their rifle butts and damaged his knee as they beat him.

Billy shook his head at him, an action Murdock somehow 'saw' in his mind.

"Don' look at me. I',only here t' give ya moral s'pport." He snorted as if thinking of something funny. "'N' since when d' you worry over 'fficial orders 'n' plans?"

The pilot ignored the comment, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was true. And he knew it only too well.

"I know I'm lookin' for somethin' . . . somethin' . . . " Murdock frowned. "An LZ? Rice Paddy? A river? What?"

In the next minute he pointed the Huey toward a reflective rectangular surface a short distance away. "That's it, Billy! I'm sure of it!"

Again he had the nagging feeling he had seen this location before. In his tours over in Nam he had some pretty spectacular views of the jungle canopy interspersed with fields of elephant grass and rice paddies.

"Ya seen one rice paddy, ya seen 'em all," he muttered, wracking his brain for why he was so concerned about finding this particular one.

As he neared the watery surface, he blinked in disbelief. In the murky waters, resting against the mud embankment between the flooded fields, crouched two men dressed in the ragged black uniforms of POWs.

He recognized both of them and whooped in joy.

"Look, Billy! It's Wilson 'n' Face!" His joy was short-lived. Scanning the paddy, he felt his stomach twist in apprehension. "But where's Heller? Where's Chuck Heller?"

In the next moment, he spotted the third escapee, his hands up, the enemy soldiers approaching him with their rifles trained on him.

The sun dimmed suddenly and then went dark.

For a second he panicked. Flying blind meant he couldn't try to rescue any of his three friends.

Swallowing hard, he maintained a firm hold on the cyclic and collective, attempting to lift the bird up and hover in one place. He didn't understand what was happening but he wasn't about to crash the chopper.

"Maybe it's jus' a cloud hidin' th' sun." Murdock swallowed hard and nodded to himself. "Yeah, that's what it is. It's gotta be."

The pilot sensed Billy was no longer with him. Maybe whatever was happening scared him away. That terrified Murdock.

A gentle light filled the cockpit just as suddenly as the sun had dimmed moments before. Warm and comforting at the same time, it enveloped him like a soft blanket.

"You have found the thing you were called to do. Once you have accomplished that you will have peace. Soon you will have to start a solo journey to your destiny." A quiet familiar voice spoke to him.

It seemed to surround him even as he recognized who was talking to him.

"Reverend Barger?" he whispered, relieved and scared all at the same time.

"Do not let your team mates deter you from your calling. Say your goodbyes to Daniela. Let your last words with her be peaceful and said in love."

Murdock gulped. "That don't soun' like I'll be returnin' from whatever this is."

"Nothing is assured but at the end, you will find peace. You must wait for the proper time to leave this place and find peace."

The glow faded until there was nothing but the inky darkness. The pilot sucked in a sharp breath as he realized he was once again navigating the chopper without any idea how far above the treetops he hovered.

"I'm gonna crash . . . " His hands were numb from the death grip he had on the controls. The collective and cyclic had gone rubbery in his hands, fighting his grip. Trying to flex his fingers, he found them frozen in place.

"Don' leave me! Come back! I'm . . . gonna . . . "

"Captain Murdock? H. M.? Please . . . please wake up . . . you're hurting me . . . "

Dazed, he forced his eyes open. The pretty nurse . . . Daniela? Donna? . . . who seemed to know him better than anyone else, even Doctor Richter, grimaced and attempted to pull away from the grasp he had on both of her wrists.

"I . . . I'm . . . sorry," he managed as he searched her eyes for help. He silently commanded his fingers to uncurl and was thankful when they obeyed.

She backed away from his bedside, rubbing her wrists, fear in her expression.

"Don' be scared, darlin' . . . please?"

She wordlessly shook her head and stammered, "You were . . . you were having a nightmare. I forgot . . . I forgot . . . "

She didn't have to tell him what she forgot. He knew he was unpredictable whenever he woke from a nightmare. As he stared at her, wanting to find the right words to make things right between them again, flashes of memories sparked in his mind and faded, one after the other. All seemed to be times he spent with this woman alone. Closing his eyes, he focused on making them clearer. He had promised her he would try to remember.

"Captain?" He heard her as if from a distance.

The last mind picture was the most intimate and painful for him to remember. He saw himself lean forward to kiss her, then pull back to place a velvet-covered box in her hand. He saw the surprise and tears as she realized what it was. He heard the whispered "Yes" to his question.

He remembered who she was and what she meant to him.

"Dani. My angel," he murmured as he opened his eyes to look at her.

Tears spilling down her cheeks, she froze in place. She took a deep shuddering breath.

"Don' be 'fraid o' me." Looking at her, he realized with crushing despair he had frightened her badly. He wanted more than anything to get up from the bed and move toward her but he couldn't for fear she would bolt from the room. "Please, angel . . . darlin' . . . don' be 'fraid."

Reverend Barger's words came back to him. He had to make amends, then say goodbye when it was time for him to leave.

"I don't know if you're really here," she whispered. "It's been so long."

She's still 'fraid. She thinks I'm gonna forget her 'gain.

Murdock forced a silly smirk. "I think I'm here. Here, lemme check." Pinching the fleshy part of his arm, he pretended to grimace. "Ouch! Here, you wanna try?" He slowly rose from the bed and held out his hand to her.

Her tears continued to trail down her face as she cautiously came to him. Stopping a couple of feet from him, she hesitated to come nearer.

I know only one way she's gonna b'lieve I r'member.

Clearing the remaining distance, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. As he did, he let the memories wash over him. He continued the kiss, snaking his arms around her waist to pull her closer.

He was relieved when she tentatively returned the embrace.

"I r'member th' flowers I got ya. Daisies 'n' roses. Daisies b'cause ya like 'em so much 'n' roses 'cause I had somethin' 'portant t' ask you."

He murmured the words in her ear, stopping at the end to kiss her neck.

She was trembling in his embrace yet tightening her hold as he continued to reassure her.

"'N' you said yes." He pulled back to look into her eyes. "I'm gonna marry you someday, Daniela Scalatini."

As he held her against his chest, smoothing back her hair, letting her cry, he wondered if he would be able to leave when it was time to go. His future and any chance for peace depended on a response from a woman in Texas.

But maybe Paula Fromstead won' answer my letter.

If the ghost of Reverend Barger was right, she would. And he had to be ready.