Murdoch was on look-out duty and whistled out a bird call. "What is it Murdoch?" Hannibal called out.
"The hunting cry of the Californian condor," he replied, before demonstrating the bird call again. "Did you know, the Californian condor is the largest flying bird in North America? They can live for over fifty years, which is pretty good for birds."
"Fool! He meant why are you whistling?" BA growled. Horatio and Face shook their heads, both fighting back laughter.
"Oh. Right. Well, the Noches are straightening up, and I've just seen another car pull up, and some big suits got out. I'm guessing they're pretty important." Horatio moved to join Murdoch and it only took one look for him to recognise the men who had joined the Noches that had captured them. Horatio arched one eyebrow in surprise. He certainly hadn't expected them to send in the four main Mala Noche leaders in Miami. Antonio Garcia, Raul Olmedo, Juan Lozano and Felipe Ramirez. Impressive turnout, given that they were supposedly here to simply witness an execution.
When he said as much to Hannibal, the Colonel smiled. "I knew they wouldn't let me down. You can always rely on a bad guy to want to gloat over a defeated enemy, and we've been really annoying them lately. Hey, BA! Is that thing going to run?"
BA looked over, clearly annoyed at the lack of trust. "Hannibal, my vehicles always run. You just make sure we got weapons that'll work."
"That's your job," Hannibal reminded Horatio. "OK people, let's get into position. We wouldn't want to disappoint the Noches now, would we?" Shaking his head at Hannibal's apparent total confidence in his plan, which given the way the previous plan had worked, Horatio did not share, the CSI moved to his place on the back of the JCB. What had been a run-down, broken heavy lifting machine was now covered in thick metal plates, providing armour plating that should stop most bullets. A small slit had been cut in one of the plates, giving BA, the driver, a way of seeing where he was going. At the back, where the rest of the team positioned themselves, space had been made for as many fertiliser grenades as possible. Each man had some matches, and if they failed, some flint, with which they could create the spark needed to set off the grenade. Horatio only hoped they worked.
Face and Horatio were due to work one side, while Murdoch and Hannibal took the other. The way the grenades were made, it would take two people to operate the firing mechanism: one to light the fuses, and another to aim the tubing. Hannibal looked around, checked everyone was where they should be, and nodded. He pulled on his black leather gloves and lit another cigar. "OK BA. Start her up."
There was an anxious moment when the engine spluttered and died, but the next time BA turned the key, it sprung into life. Horatio let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. So far, so good. Over the noise of the engine, it was impossible to hear anything else, but Horatio smiled as he imagined the confusion outside. The Noches would be nervous now. He looked around at the smiling, confident faces of the A-Team. The Noches would be right to be nervous. In that moment, Horatio suddenly truly understood how the four men who laughed and joked and teased each other relentlessly could be one of the best commando units the US Army had ever produced.
"Everyone ready?" Hannibal checked one last time. "Let's do this."
Calleigh had insisted on accompanying the SWAT and Army teams back to the docks, and Frank and the others had come with her. Even Alexx had refused to be left behind for this one. As the ME had succinctly put it, they might need a doctor with them. The five of them were given strict orders to stay out of the way, and had found themselves a rooftop where they could observe exactly what was about to happen. Unaware of the SWAT team's presence, the Noches could be seen checking their rifles. Calleigh felt someone take a tight hold of her hand, and smiled reassuringly at Alexx.
"Horatio will be fine." She wasn't sure who she was reassuring there, herself or her friend, but it seemed to work, and she felt better for simply saying the words. Of course he would be fine. He was Horatio. He always got out of things like this. She'd worked with him for years, and couldn't remember seeing him hurt any worse than a scratch. He'd be fine.
A loud rumble from one of the warehouses caught all of their attention. Calleigh edged forward, but Eric pulled her back. "Just stay out of sight," he hissed, before turning to stare at the scene before them. With a deafening crash, a machine burst through the warehouse doors and headed straight towards the assembled Noches. Startled, they yelled out, and started to fire at it, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off the thick metal plates. "What the hell…." Eric said, his eyes very wide.
"Is that Horatio?" Ryan said, bewildered, as the machine swung around, revealing Horatio and Face on one side. Horatio was holding some form of white tubing, and the CSIs watched in total bemusement as something shot out of the end. The missile hit one of the Noches' cars and it exploded, the flames burning white hot. Missiles started flying out of the machine from both sides, causing devastation and fires wherever they landed.
"Oh my God," Calleigh whispered, unsure whether that was a prayer or not. "Where the hell are SWAT?" Neither the army nor SWAT showed any signs of interrupting the fight however, and the A-Team soon had the Noches throwing down their weapons. Hannibal and Face leapt down off the back of the machine, and picked up some of the discarded guns, corralling the Noches into a circle, while BA brought the machine to a halt.
It was only then that SWAT moved in. Calleigh, keeping a close eye on Horatio, like the other CSIs, did not notice Hannibal's nod to Murdoch, so they didn't see the pilot disappear into the shadows. SWAT and the Army easily surrounded Hannibal and the others, and Decker stepped forward.
"Colonel Smith," he snarled. "This time you won't be getting away."
"That's what I like about you Decker," Hannibal replied. "You're always so optimistic." Horatio and Face exchanged smiles at that comment.
"I don't know why you're looking so happy Lieutenant, you're in a lot of trouble. Consorting with criminals, aiding and abetting," Decker gestured around him. "And let's not forget the small war you were just fighting. Your IAB is going to be very interested in all this." Calleigh, followed by the rest of the team, had only just arrived at the scene, but she looked outraged.
"But I told you, Horatio got a tip that the A-Team were down here, and just ended up in the middle of everything! You can't blame him for that." If Hannibal and the others were surprised or even offended by the sudden change in story, they didn't show it.
Decker was not in the mood to be corrected. "Miss Duquesne, stay out of this. And where is Captain Murdoch?"
Horatio, Face and BA looked around, as if surprised by the pilot's disappearance. Hannibal only grinned. "You mean you didn't see him fly away? Oh Decker, that's a bad mistake. Why, he just flapped his wings and off he went, into the blue sky. You know Murdoch, he's probably flown home, back to the psychiatric hospital in LA."
His words seemed to remind Decker that Murdoch was not officially wanted by the government, and that he had captured the three that mattered the most. "Forget Murdoch then. Just get these three back to jail, where they belong. Lieutenant, we'll be keeping them at MDPD headquarters until we can arrange transport back to Fort Bragg." He stalked off, and his men handcuffed the A-Team, leading them to the police van brought along for the occasion. SWAT meanwhile were busy arresting the Noches who didn't require medical attention.
As Antonio Garcia was dragged past him, Horatio smiled at his team. "You have to hand it to the A-Team, I think this might be the end of the Mala Noche in Miami. I can't them coming back now, not knowing that all four leaders are in prison."
"Not so bad after all, are they Frank?" Calleigh asked archly.
"Not a bad result, you mean," he replied gruffly. "The Noches are done for, and the A-Team is back behind bars. A good day at the office, if you ask me." Horatio sighed at that. The A-Team were back behind bars. Still, if Hannibal's plan worked, they wouldn't be for long. And he owed them a lot, so the least he could do was help out.