Standing by the tills was a large, somewhat flabby man with an arm wrapped around an angry woman, her body tight with rage, her movements restrained by the mauling she was receiving. His other hand was rifling the till, but what held B.A.'s attention, and Face's anger was the brutal way the ape was rummaging around inside the woman's top, oblivious to her winces of pain. B.A. took in the picture and growled under his breath. It was only when the woman turned her head that they saw that it was Amy who was been held with such force. He heard a sharp hiss of breath from Face and turned in time to catch a variety of emotions chasing each other across the normally amiable Lieutenant's features.
B.A. watched as Face suppressed his emotions, replacing them with a mask of resolute fury. B.A. knew Face well, hell he'd known him for most of his adult life. Face rarely got like this, and when he did, it was best not to be the object of the Lieutenant's anger.
B.A wondered briefly why Face was so upset, but at that moment they got the hidden signal from a babbling Hannibal, who'd resorted to his earlier persona of the drunk in the alleyway. A second thug was sat watching Amy's reactions and holding her mother in place as a witness. Amy's mother was seated in a cubicle near her daughter, wincing as she was forced to watch the degradation that Amy was suffering. The bell on the door jangled as Hannibal stumbled through and landed with surprising nimbleness and grace in the same cubicle. Still posing as the drunk, Hannibal keeled over and landed on top of the startled thug. Amy's mother shrank back further into her skin, getting the fright of her life when the drunk grabbed the gun from her captor, swiftly followed by the appearance of two further men from the kitchen, both armed, and both angry.
They stood in a combat fashion, aiming their guns at the man holding her daughter. Their faces were masks of anger, the large black man a menacing figure, but it was his counterpart that held her attention. The other man stood stock still, his eyes an angry ice blue, the rage in him evident to them all. Hannibal risked a quick glance towards his Lieutenant, noticing the contained anger. He knew Face, knew him well, and knew when something was wrong. And something was wrong, was very wrong. The normally affable Faceman was wound tighter than a sprung coil, his attention captivated by the thug holding the young woman. Hannibal's eyes widened as he took in her identity, realisation gnawing at the very back of his mind. Hannibal pushed those thoughts away, he could deal with them later. The here and now was more important, he had a situation to contain and his Team were poised and ready for his command.
Chapter 4Amy's captor had spun around when the A-Team had stormed into the restaurant, but still managed to keep his hands in place. Hell, he'd been enjoying himself. Amy was still struggling against him when the guys had burst in, relief washing over her as she recognised the men causing the commotion. A faint smile began at the corners of her mouth in anticipation of the retribution that was about to occur.
Amy's assailant caught sight of the smile and reached even further inside Amy's top, causing her to wince in pain.
"Enjoying it are you, my lovely?" he leered.
With cold eyes, Face looked at the man who was abusing Amy.
"Take your hand out," he said in a voice seemingly devoid of emotion. Hannibal looked up, this was something new, Face rarely got truly angry, his flat tone a sure indicator that something was seriously wrong. The ape slowly took his hand from the till, his second roving hand seemingly forgotten. Face cocked the handgun he held and took a step closer. His ice-blue eyes bored into the increasingly worried eyes of the man holding Amy.
"I said," he paused," Take your hand out."
As if he had suddenly remembered his other hand, the man roughly let go of Amy and shoved her towards Face. Face caught her, his eyes never leaving those of his opponent. Face held Amy to him for a second, before she moved behind him towards the kitchen and her frantic father. As she passed Face, however, their hands caught, and held, a lifeline linking them until the last moment.
B.A. stepped forward, breaking the spell, forcing the ape towards Hannibal and his prey. Face stood and watched, before turning towards the kitchen. He knew what would happen, Hannibal and B.A would dispose of the two idiots who had dared to go up against loved ones of the A-Team. Face stopped, once again pushing the emotions to the back of his mind. Of course she was a loved one, she was part of the Team. He tried to ignore the small, but insistent voice that prompted him to delve further into his feelings for Amy
In the kitchen, Amy was being held in a deep embrace, her father almost crushing her in his relief, her head buried deep into his shoulders. Daniel looked up as the Lieutenant entered the kitchen, their eyes meeting and evaluating. Daniel had not missed the meeting between Face and his daughter, he had seen the momentary hug and watched as they held hands as if it were a lifeline. He watched the range of emotions flicker across Face, understanding little except the fact that this young man knew his daughter and that Amy knew Face. The depth of that knowledge and the reasons for it were alien to him, but it was enough that he recognised their being.