Hannibal's eyes continued to sparkle, and Face's smile dimmed somewhat. The classic signs were there, Face knew them well. Hannibal was on the Jazz, that rush of emotions that created some of his most audacious plans, some of the most stunningly clever dangerous plans.
It was not enough that they'd got recorded evidence, oh no, now it looked like they would be going in through the front door to deliver the message in person. Hannibal wanted to drop Antonelli in it well and truly and to see the reaction of the man as he did it. Oh yes, Hannibal was on the Jazz all right!
Face reached over and took hold of Amy's hand, his head cocked to one side as he looked at her, his bright blue eyes smiling.
"Amy, my love, are you sure you want to come back? This man's on the Jazz and you know what that means!! We're all going in through the front door, to meet up with a heavily armed squad of primeval apes dedicated to their deranged and greedy master." She grinned at him and squeezed his hand, knowing that Face was on the Jazz too. Pulling Face onto the back seat with her, she wrapped his arms around her, so that she was leaning back against him, her eyes beginning to sparkle too.
"Let's go get them!"
Hannibal smirked at his Second–In-Command as the excitement coursed through his veins." I love it when a plan comes together"
Chapter 26Antonelli stuttered to his feet when the door of his office burst open and young Bobby-Joe sauntered in, accompanied by a huge be-jewelled muscle-man, a smirking white-haired man with an aura of authority, and a cackling man in a leather jacket. Each man held a machine gun and each took up positions around the room, sealing off any aspects of danger. Behind them, stood Cindy-Lou, now dressed more conservatively, and looking more beautiful than ever. Face watched as Antonelli stared at her, his gaze taking in the handgun that she had trained on the astounded man.
"She's good, isn't she," Face said proudly.
As Antonelli had leapt to his feet, he'd managed to press the hidden alarm button, placed strategically beneath the top of his desk and Face's admiration was interrupted by the thundering of approaching feet.
Hannibal looked over at the Team and rolled his eyes.
"Why do they always do this? Why can't they admit defeat? They must know they're going to lose!" he said, as they took up retaliatory positions.
Two men burst through the doors, brandishing handguns, only to make a swift retreat as bullets danced around their toes. Hannibal motioned to B.A. and Murdock and they took off after the hapless goons and caught and disposed of them. Within seconds, both men were rendered unconscious and relieved of their weapons. Inside the office, Hannibal was busy removing the gun from McTeague, a strong but obviously intellectually challenged man, who had the temerity to try to take Hannibal by surprise. Hannibal swiftly dealt with him and turned to help Amy, who steadily held her handgun trained on Antonelli.
Face spun round and landed a punch in the gut of the man who had tried to relieve him of his gun. He had acted out of instinct, they were a highly trained unit, able to fight and win in most circumstances. It sometimes became an act of instinct, the moves flowed and almost invariably the A-Team defeated the enemy. As Face landed a strategically placed kick, he recognised the man who was losing the fight to him. It was the lout who had molested Amy. At that moment, a tight ball of anger built up in Face and he took a sudden step backwards, causing the lunging man to fall to the ground in surprise. The man had thought that he could take Face, and all of a sudden he couldn't even reach him, let alone defeat him. As he lay on the floor, trying to make sense of what had happened, he felt a foot rest on his chest and the barrel of a machine gun poked in his nose.
Chapter 27Hannibal looked over at Face and saw the anger in his Lieutenant's eyes. Amy sensed s sudden change in the atmosphere of the room and looked over at Face as well. Her instincts were not as sharp as were Hannibal's and Antonelli sensed he had a chance. He lunged for her, his movement inhibited by Hannibal pushing the barrel of his machine gun against his chest. Without looking up, he addressed Face.
"Lieutenant?"
"It's him, Colonel, the one who hurt Amy."
Face's anger was palpable, vibrating in the air, the jocularity of their earlier exploits vanished. B.A. and Murdock had returned to the office and had immobilised Antonelli, by tying him to his own office chair. They had also gagged him, so that all he could do was to watch what was unfurling before him. Having dealt with those who had been under the mistaken image that they could defeat the A-Team, Hannibal and the others stood and watched as Face attempted to regain his emotions.
This was the man who had molested Amy, he had hurt the one person that Face loved more than life and he should pay for that. For several seconds, Hannibal came close to believing that Face could kill the man, so strong were his emotions.
Chapter 28It was only now that the A-Team truly realised the depth of Face's feelings for Amy. It was also now that they realised the strength of character that he possessed. Hannibal watched as Face reigned in his hatred for the man who had touched Amy in such a painful manner. He watched as Face came back from his anger and looked over at Amy. As their eyes met, Face and Amy shared a look of understanding, and a look of love and trust passed between them. During this interchange, none of the pressure on the man had been released and Face knew exactly what was going on with the idiot beneath his gun barrel.
Checking that Hannibal still had Antonelli under wraps, Amy moved over to stand beside Face. She looked down on the man, a slow grin growing over her face. She looked up at Face and grinned at him as well.
"Say thank-you to the nice man, Face"
Face looked confused, and the man let out a grunt of pain as Face moved the gun against him.
"I said, say thank-you Face! This is the nice man that pushed us out into the open!"
Amy looked over to Face, trying, without words to let him know that this blob on the floor was the cause of their emotions and love for each other being revealed. If it hadn't been for this man's actions, in all probability they would have denied their feelings. As it was, his groping had caused Face to understand his love for Amy. B.A. moved over to the Lieutenant and took his place. Face stood and looked at Amy.
"So what you're saying is that without him"
"Yes"
"We'd never have"
"Yeees"
"And we wouldn't be"
"Aha"
Understanding dawned across Face's handsome features and he reached down to shake the confused prisoner by the hand. Face moved and stood closely behind Amy, smiling at the poor man's consternation. The guy really had no idea that he'd been the catalyst for their relationship, and Face knew that despite his intense hatred of the man, that to brood on that hatred would do no-one any good and that he and Amy could move on.
He looked over towards Hannibal, who had understood what Amy had been trying to say, and who had also understood Face's reactions towards the man. This was what Hannibal had been afraid of, that Face would over-react when it came to Amy, after all the man was in love. The situation had arisen sooner than he had expected and the young Lieutenant had dealt with it admirably. Face understood that Amy could look after herself, but also stood ready to defend her if need be. They had proved to themselves and to him that they could function as a Team and could function as a couple. Hannibal beamed at them, his admiration evident for the rest of the Team to interpret and understand.