CHAPTER 5

Armed with their automatic rifles, the team cautiously snuck into the hospital's basement using an entrance the doctor had indicated on the map. The first thing they needed to do is find out where Kyle hung out and where he was holding Face. It didn't take them very long to find out where Kyle was hiding. He was busy collecting all kinds of stuff to torture the poor young Lieutenant. He also had gathered quit a collection of firearms and the team realized they needed to be extra careful.

Kyle got up, took a tray and grabbed a bottle of water and some dry bread to put onto the tray. This was it. The moment they needed to seize control over the situation. The A-team members quietly snuck behind him as he made his way over to the room he kept his prisoner in. Face was out cold lying on a thin mattress in the corner of the room near the wall. His arm with the broken wrist was lying limply beside him and blood soaked his once crisp white shirt. His face showed clear indications of a thorough beating and his beautiful blond hair was sweat soaked. He would be in no condition to take part in the fighting and he would also be needing assistance from his team to get out of the basement all together.

The sight of his second-in-command's condition enraged Hannibal even more and he launched himself onto Kyle who didn't anticipate him coming at all. But Kyle wasn't about to give up without a fight. He managed to deliver a couple of strong blows to Hannibal, but that's when B.A. jumped in to assist his Colonel. Murdock kept rear guard as to reassure that nobody else would come in to assist Kyle. B.A. took all of his anger out on Kyle who didn't stand a chance against the bulky and strong Sergeant. Meanwhile, Hannibal made his way over to his injured Lieutenant.

He took of his black gloves and softly checked Face's pulse. His pulse was very weak he also noticed that Face felt hot to the touch. He gently brushed Face's hair from his forehead and put the back of his hand to it to feel the heat radiating off of his body. Hannibal gently shook his shoulder to get him to wake up.

"Face? It's me. You did an amazing job with those clues, kid. We took Kyle out and we're gonna get you taken care off. Right now I need you to open up those baby blues of yours, Lieutenant."

"Oh yeah … Poor Peck. He passed out on me. Just when I was starting to have some fun with him."

"Watch it, pall. Nobody messes with a member of MY team and gets away with it. Got that!"

"I've got you good this time," Kyle said chuckling. "No doubt about it. You do have a soft spot for Peck."

"I'd shut up if I were you 'cause I'm starting to lose my self-control I can assure you … you wouldn't like that. You just might end up looking like a miserable piece of Swiss cheese when I'm done with you."

"He's right, sucker. You ain't gonna feel lucky with them holes in ya. You hurt Face. Now we hurt you."

"Take care of him will ya, B.A. We need to get Face some medical attention straight away."

"On it, Hannibal. How is he doin'?"

"His pulse is weak, he's burning up and he's out. I'm gonna need to assess his injuries real quick. Murdock? Get in here."

Murdock came running through the door.

"Facey!"

"Hey, fool. Have you checked out the place?"

"Yeah, I did. Not to worry. Not spotted anyone so far. He's working on his own. How's he doing, Colonel?"

Murdock ran up to his best friend and kneeled down beside him on the floor.

"Not too good I'm afraid, Captain. I'll have to further assess his injuries."

Hannibal gently unbuttoned Face's white dress shirt to reveal his bruised and battered chest and abdomen. Murdock now looked at his best friend's wrist which was in an awkward position lying limply next to his bruised body and he also noticed the blood stains on his white shirt.

"Hannibal …"

"Yes, I saw that too."

Hannibal gently tried to undo the buttons and ever so softly tried to roll up the sleeve of Face's shirt. As soon as he had rolled it up just above his wrist, they saw how a bone had pierced the skin of Face's arm. The wound was bleeding and looked like it was infected which could also explain his fever. Hannibal and Murdock shared a worried look.

"We need to get him medical attention. Now! B.A., Murdock, see what you can find to build some sort of stretcher so we can move him."

"On it."

It didn't take them long to gather a few things together and build a solid type of stretcher. Hannibal stayed with Face the whole time. When they were finally ready, they carefully lifted the thin mattress Face was lying on and gently put him onto the stretcher making sure his arm wouldn't budge at all.

The team members made their way back up to the hospital. The doctor had showed Hannibal how they could sneak into the hospital unseen with their injured team member. Hannibal quickly made his way over to the doctor and they hurriedly made their way back to the room Face was in. The doctor wasted no time and started to examine his patient.

"He's not doing too well," he stated. "What worries me the most at the moment is his arm. I'm pretty sure both the radius and the ulna are broken. It's a complex fracture and a part of either one of the bones has pierced the skin. Due to the circumstances Mr. Peck was being held in, I think he might have gotten an infection. He needs to be operated on to set his wrist, but I can't do that right now due to his general condition. His pulse is weak, his blood pressure is low due to the loss of blood and he has a high fever. Mr. Peck I also severely dehydrated and I need to put him on antibiotics to get rid of the infection. There are also his other injuries to take into account. He's been beaten up pretty good and we'll need to x-ray his chest and abdomen to check on the actual damage done to his body.

"What are you saying, doc?"

"Right now there's not much we can do. We need to get some fluids into his system, some antibiotics, something to lower his body temperature and a strong painkiller. We need to stabilize his condition first before we can operate."

"So you want to keep him in here?"

"Yes. Absolutely. We need to keep an eye on Mr. Peck's condition."

"I understand that, doc, but it can be very dangerous for us to stay here. I told you before. We are wanted by the military for a crime we didn't commit. If they track any of us, we'll end up spending 30 years in the federal slammer and I'd like to avoid that if I could."

"I can register your friend under a false name if you like. Would that help you out? I will be his physician and I know for a fact that we can trust my nurse. He'll be in excellent hands."

"We really don't trust anybody, but I'll take your word for it doctor. But we won't leave his side. We'll stay right here with him just in case anything happens."

"Sure. Okay. We'll get you some blankets and something to eat and we'll start treating your friend. He'll be out for a while, I'm afraid."

The doctor left them alone in the room with Face for a little while and returned shortly after with his nurse and supplies to treat Face. His broken wrist was immobilized at first. Afterwards, the nurse gently cut the other sleeve of his dress shirt to get access to his arm. The team members watched her as she efficiently applied a tourniquet so that the veins in his arm would become more prominent. She then disinfected the IV site with an alcohol wipe, checked the catheter at first and inserted the needle gently into Face's skin. She checked to make sure she hit the vein then pulled back the needle and discarded it and pushed the catheter in a little further keeping pressure on Face's vein and skin. She removed the tourniquet and secured the catheter by a sterile dressing. Face hadn't even moved at all. He was still out. She explained his worried team members that the medication would start to do his job soon.

She looked at her patient who was lying in the hospital bed looking peacefully and softly ran a hand through his hair. Despite the obvious bruising to his face and the black eye he sported, he still looked very handsome.

"I just don't understand how anyone could hurt him," she said worry evident in her voice.

"The man that hurt Face ain't right in the head. He likes to just hurt people. Bad. He wanted to get to Hannibal."

"Well he did succeed. You don't just mess around with anyone of my team and get away with it."

The young nurse noticed the anger in the voice of the older man as he spoke. Murdock noticed this straight away.

"Facey is part of our unit. Our family. We're all he's got. We all met in 'Nam during the war."

"Your friend is lucky to have such great friends looking out for him," the doctor said. "No need to worry about that Kyle person. I've been in touch with the police and they're coming to pick him up. He'll be behind bars for a while. And no need for you to worry. They bought my story."

"Thanks doc. I really appreciate all the help," Hannibal said.

"May I ask what it is that you are all wanted for?" The doctor asked.

"It's a long story," Hannibal started to say. "But let's just say that we were falsely accused of robbing the Bank of Hanoi and we've been betrayed by our own country. We have been on the run ever since helping people deal with thugs and scumbags."

"Your secret is safe with us," the doctor said. "Now, we'll leave you guys alone so you can all get some rest. I pretty sure Mr. Peck will sleep through the night with the medication he's on. If there's any change in his condition whatsoever, don't hesitate to beep me. We're both on duty tonight."

The doctor and his nurse left the room shortly after that and Murdock and B.A. offered to get some coffees. Hannibal stayed behind with Face. He pulled up his chair next to Face's bed and watched his Lieutenant sleep peacefully. He grabbed his hand in his and softly squeezed it.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this, kid. You were in enough pain as it was. I should have never have let you out of my side. You just rest now, son. You'll be okay eventually. You'll just need plenty of rest to get back on your feet.