A/N: Just the one chapter for now, but there's plenty more to come, it's just a question of getting the time to edit it fully. Please keep the reviews coming in, it really does make my day to read that someone other than me is enjoying this story.

"So what have you got for me Cal?" Horatio asked, once they were safely inside the relative secrecy of his office. The last thing he needed was for IAB to discover that he was trying to prove the A-Team were innocent. Rick Stetler had enough problems with his lab as it was, and that was a man who never needed any more encouragement to cause trouble.

"The usual," she grinned. "You are right. As usual. Doesn't that get a little dull?"

"Calleigh…."

"Oh, all right," she smiled teasingly. "I checked out the dates of the army orders sent in 1990, including the ones that sent Hannibal and the others to Baghdad. The A-Team say that they were given the order to rob the Iraqi National Bank on the 1st December 1990, but the official army records, which are now available through the DOD, state that all attempts to invade Iraq had been stopped the previous month. Not looking good so far, right? Well, that's only scratching the surface. Checking through some journal articles, there were a couple of articles as late as the January edition of Vanity Fair in which American generals were quoted as saying that the push to Baghdad would continue. And another article which said invading was stupid, but that's off topic. So, the official records and the journalism from the period don't match up."

"So someone in the army is covering their tracks?" Horatio mused. "It's easier to change official records than to get the media to cooperate."

"But why would they bother?" she asked. "I mean, so an operation went wrong. It's not like it's the first time."

"Who was the original investigating officer in the A-Team's case? Do we know?"

"A Colonel called Lynch. He was also chasing them for years, but then he was replaced by Decker, presumably because he never caught the A-Team for longer than a day."

"No resemblance to us then," Horatio said in amusement. "OK, Cal, can you check into Lynch for me? Maybe he had a grudge against the team for some reason."

"Sure thing. What are you going to do?"

He hesitated for a second. "I'm, um, I'm going to speak to a friend." Calleigh raised her eyebrows as he left the room. Maybe it was because she knew him so well, or maybe it was because Horatio was the most honest man she'd ever known, but she had always been able to tell when he was lying. And he had been lying then. Or hiding something at the very least.

Eduardo Ruez only sighed when he saw Horatio outside his door again. Hannibal had said the man would come back. And, he grinned, Hannibal had been right. Again. "What can I do for you this time Lieutenant?"

"I'm, ah, hoping you can help me." This was awkward, and Horatio wasn't entirely certain why he was doing this, only that Hannibal and the others had been set up and he hated injustice. And as far as he could see, despite being on the run, the A-Team had been remarkably conscientious about keeping the peace. Sure, the bad guys got hurt, but that was justice in its way. Despite what he had said to Eric, Horatio had started to hope that the A-Team managed to get away at the end of this.

"Come in and sit down." Ruez frowned. He wasn't sure where this was going, but it probably wouldn't be good news for Hannibal. "Now, what it is that you want my help with?"

"I need to contact the A-Team."

Ruez smiled. "You said that last time, Lieutenant. I still don't know where they are."

"But you do know how to get in touch with them. Just ask them to meet me." Horatio hesitated for the briefest of seconds and added, "Please."

"Why? You want to arrest them. I will not lead them into a trap."

"It's not a trap," Horatio said softly, his eyes fixed on the other man. "I need to talk to Hannibal, and I have no intention of arresting him or the others." Not yet, at any rate. The time may come when he would have no choice, but he hoped that was still far in the future.

Ruez leant back in his seat and stared at Horatio, who returned his gaze evenly. Eventually, biting his lip, Ruez nodded once. "I cannot tell you where they are, but I can tell you who to meet. An old fisherman called Jeff Morgan hangs around the Dolphin Marina in the Gables. He knows where to find Hannibal."

Horatio stood. "Thank you."

"Lieutenant? Why do you want to meet them? Unless it really is a trap."

"It's not a trap," he repeated. "And I just need to be sure of something before I act on some information." What information, Ruez wondered, watching him leave. As before, the first thing he did was call Hannibal, who seemed pleased that his acting talents were going to be required on this job.

The Dolphin Marina was situated on the edge of the Gables, and housed a collection of beautiful yachts. The richest in Miami paid dearly to moor their boats in these waters, but Horatio paid them little attention. Scanning the area with a practised eye, he spotted a group of fishermen out on one of the piers. Making his way over, Horatio thought he caught a flash of gold jewellery, but when he turned around, there was no one to be seen. There were three fishermen, but two of them disappeared at a look from the third. He was short, hunched over with age, with a bulbous nose and deep-set eyes. He was going bald, but what little hair remained was snowy white. He grinned insolently at Horatio, revealing only a few remaining teeth.

"Jeff Morgan?" Horatio asked, slipping his sunglasses off and hiding a smile.

"That's me." He spoke with a deep Southern accent. "You're that fella my ol' pal Eddie told me about."

"I am. I need to speak to some people, and I think you know how I can get in touch with them."

"They don't come cheap, you know." Morgan started to laugh, before it turned into a hacking cough. Once the fit had passed, he lit a cigarette. "Got to stop these things, they're killing me the docs tell me. You smoke?"

Horatio shook his head, and smiled. "I'm not intending to hire them Mr Morgan. I just need to speak to them."

"That don't come cheap neither."

"I have important information for them."

That sparked Morgan's attention. "Oh really? And this is something they couldn't have worked out for themselves?"

"I'm sure they already know it."

"Interesting," the old man said. "Say, why don't you tell me, and I'll pass it on? Save you the bother of meeting up with them."

Not a bad idea, Horatio knew. He could do without risking Stetler finding out he was meeting with wanted criminals. "I know they're innocent. I know they robbed that bank in Baghdad on the army's orders. Orders that were later changed and covered up."

"Do you now?" The fisherman's voice held a great deal of interest now. He regarded Horatio curiously. "And how did you find this out?"

"A little checking around."

"Why did you bother? The army has them all but convicted."

"They didn't seem like bank robbers to me." A simple truth, but Horatio had always preferred simple truths to complicated ones.

Morgan chuckled to himself. "You see further than most, I will give you that. I'll pass that message on to the Team. They'll be pleased to know someone believes them."

"I don't know if I can prove it yet," Horatio warned. "At the moment, it's just circumstantial."

"Better than anyone else has done. At least you believe in them. It's a good start. I understand they're after the Mala Noche gang at the moment. You might want to watch yourself, I hear the Noches have a contract out on you."

"I've heard that myself," Horatio admitted. That had not made his life easier.

"I dare say you won't when the A-Team are finished."

"Pass on my thanks."

"I will."

Horatio turned to go and walked away, before turning back and calling out, "Oh, and Hannibal? Your accent's more Texan than Floridian, but it was still impressive." For once, Hannibal was left speechless as the CSI walked away, a pleased grin lighting his features. For once, and maybe just for that one time, he had had the last word.