Opera Buffa, Opera Seria
AN: The title is German for romantic opera. You can find "Oh du mein holder Abendstern" on YouTube sung by different baritone singers. It is quite beautiful. I highly recommend a listen. Now whether Murdock could sing it? I don't know. Can you picture him singing it?
Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.
Part 3. Romantische Oper
Murdock wandered in a disoriented state through an ebony world of fog and muffled sounds. The only things he knew were real were the pains in his knee and side. Even those dulled and lessened as time passed.
The indistinct voices he thought he heard after B. A. released him from the chair were swallowed in the deafening roar of the white noise that filled the chilled atmosphere around him. He felt both paralyzed and free to move at the same time. A paradox, a mystery he couldn't puzzle out.
Something nudged his physical body from where he lay on his left side. Now he rested on his back but his soul and spirit drifted.
Am I insane? I feel all sep'rated out, like my body's one place 'n' all th' rest o' me's floatin' 'way. Like th' ol' CIA mind 'xperiments Jackson ran on me.
If his life was like an opera, he guessed this particular scene could be described by the words sung by Wolfram in Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser. His lungs were working overtime to deliver enough air to keep him alive and his mouth would not cooperate but he could think the words in his head and pretend he was singing.
Least it'll be th' best performance I ever did. Won' be outta tune 'r anythin'.
He tried to smile to reassure those around him but failed.
"Wie Todesahnung Dämmrung deckt die Lande,
umhüllt das Tal mit schwärzlichem Gewande . . .
(Like a portent of death, twilight shrouds the earth
and envelops the valley in its sable robe . . . )"
oooooo
"Faceman! Help me get th' fool up on 'is feet! Gotta get movin'!"
B. A. crouched by Murdock's unconscious form as he lay on his left side in the pool of blood. Rolling him onto his back, the Sergeant took in the slit pants leg and the slashed orange-yellow T-shirt, the green Gumby character splotched with red. He winced at the sight of the two-inch long gouge in the flesh above the pilot's knee. It was the same knee the VC guards beat with their rifle butts in the POW camp.
Almost lost th' leg b'cause of th' infection that caused.
Even worse was the blood that freely seeped from the four-inch long wound in the Captain's side. He looked across Murdock's body at Dani.
Fool'd want me ta keep 'er from worryin' over him.
But he could see she already was.
oooooo
". . . der Seele, die nach jenen Höhn verlangt,
vor ihrem Flug durch Nacht und Grausen bangt.
( . . . the soul, that yearns for those heights,
dreads to take its dark and awful flight.)
He crooned the words in his mind, thinking of a time when he took a bullet for his Colonel.
Only thin' I was 'fraid of was my friends bein' caught by Decker. But Decker didn' get 'em. He tried t' get it outta me, where they were, but I tol' 'im all 'bout th' stewed prunes they were servin' fer lunch that day.
He couldn't puzzle out why he was thinking of that now. Maybe he was hungry?
No, that ain' it. Th' way I feel's so much like in th' place Hann'bal 'n' B. A. brought me. When I was tryin' t' make the Big Guy go 'way b'fore Hann'bal got back with Decker. Felt almost like I was soarin' 'bove th' clouds t' Heaven.
He startled in his spirit as he thought about it.
Am I dyin'? I can't. Enzinina'll get 'er if I ain' there. Dani needs me. But where are ya, darlin'? It's so dark here and I don' have th' strength.
oooooo
As Dani knelt beside him, she repeatedly stroked his cheek and fought to control her emotions. "Don't leave me, H. M. Please don't leave me," she murmured over and over again.
B. A. knew Dani had seen many emergencies during her years as a nurse. Even though her current employment was on the same V. A. psychiatric ward as the pilot resided, she had started out as a trauma nurse in the Los Angeles County Hospital emergency center. She was not a newcomer to the sight of patients with serious injuries, including victims of knife fights.
Despite that, her hands were trembling and her blue eyes were watery with tears as she stared down at Murdock and assessed his condition. As the Sergeant watched, a tear trickled down her cheek. She held her fist against her mouth as if to hold back any more from falling but they streamed down her face one by one. It was too much for her. She gripped his hand in hers and rocked back and forth, quietly crying.
Aw, shit.
He drew in a breath to tell her the crazy man would be alright, that he'd seen men in a lot worse condition who had lived. Then he exhaled with a heavy sigh.
I can't promise 'er somethin' I can't be certain about myself. An' she already knows it's bad, real bad.
The truth was, Murdock's knife wounds looked serious, especially the one in his right side. There was too much blood. It soaked the double layer of shirts the Captain always wore and had spread to the top of his khaki pants. It showed no sign of stopping.
oooooo
He groped through the darkness as a spirit being. Dani was beside him the last he knew. He remembered hearing her voice, feeling her arms around him as B. A. loosed him from the ropes that bound him to the chair. He had to find her again.
Where are you, darlin'? Please. Help me find ya.
As he searched for her, the pain came back in waves. When he stayed in one place, or retreated into the darkness, the pain went away.
Gotta make a choice. Dani or death. My Angel or pain.
The faintest of feeling, a warm human touch, a delicate woman's hand in his and he knew she had found him.
He would have drawn her closer to him if his body and spirit weren't traveling in different dimensions.
"Da scheinest du, o lieblichster der Sterne,
dein Sanftes Licht entsendest du der Ferne . . .
(There you shine, o fairest of the stars,
and shed your gentle light from afar . . . )
Keep on shinin', Angel. Keep hold o' my hand 'r I'll lose my way 'gain.
oooooo
B. A. was uncomfortable telling Dani to get into the van and wait for Face and him to bring Murdock to her. She wasn't one to obey orders when someone she cared deeply about was injured or in danger. But she was doing no good right now where she was.
"Dani," he growled. "Pull yerself t'gether and get ready to take 'im outta our hands when we get 'im t' the van. He needs ya ta be ready ta put pressure on that wound. An' I gotta rush 'im t' the hospital."
She frowned at him, momentarily irritated by the gruff intrusion.
"I ain' gonna tell ya again. Get in the van an' wait for us." He disliked having to order her around. She was Murdock's girlfriend and wanted only to know he would live.
But after we get 'im to a doctor, there'll be plenty a time ta worry over him.
Coming to her senses, she nodded and stood.
oooooo
He had lost his grip on her hand. Or had she pulled away? He felt the darkness tug at him and he was losing the strength to struggle out of its close confines.
Dani!
oooooo
Slowly backing away, keeping her eyes on Murdock, she bumped into Face as he approached. He grasped her shoulders to steady her and stopped, staring at his best friend's injuries.
"Faceman, get on his other side." B. A. gestured with his head. Even the Lieutenant appeared to be stunned over the amount of blood surrounding the pilot. Dani pulled out of his grasp and hurried to the van.
The Sergeant gripped Murdock's arm and propped him up against himself in a slumped sitting position. He waited for Face to snap out of the horror that was temporarily paralyzing him, resolving to singlehandedly carry the injured pilot to the van if the Lieutenant didn't move soon.
oooooo
Dani? Angel?
oooooo
On a rescue like this, when two of their own had been captured, the remaining team members had to share the work of four men. Face's job was to ensure Enzinina and "Big Lon" understood they had no options but to drop their weapons and comply.
He herded the Mob boss and his right hand man into the small storage room where he heard a soft moan.
"The cavalry's here, Colonel." After directing his two prisoners to turn to the wall and put their hands up, Face quickly scanned his CO for signs of serious injury.
The Colonel, his face bruised from the interrogation, opened his unswollen eye as wide as he could and gingerly grinned a welcome. "I see you got our friends to cooperate with you, Lieutenant."
Face forced "Big Lon" to untie Hannibal's wrists. He kept the gun trained on the two men while Hannibal tied them up. Before backing away, the Colonel confiscated the pistols from the shoulder holsters of the boss and his henchman and smiled.
He nudged the Lieutenant. "I told these two low lifes they shouldn't worry about their long term retirement plans."
"Yeah, well, I don't think they'll need to be concerned about food, clothing or shelter for the next few years with the evidence we gave the police," Face joked as he clutched Hannibal around the waist to help him to the van.
Before Face could close the door and lock it, Enzinina smirked at them. "The next time someone comes for Miss Scalatini, she won't be so lucky. The way your friend out there looks, she'll have one less person to defend her. You'll all be very sorry you interfered."
With the door closed and locked on the Mob boss, Hannibal sagged against his Lieutenant. He dropped his false bravado and wheezed, "Just get me to the van. Then find out how badly they injured Murdock."
B. A. called from where he squatted beside the man on the warehouse floor. "Faceman! Help me get th' fool up on 'is feet! Gotta get movin'!"
Face staggered with Hannibal to the vehicle and half-lifted him into the seat on the passenger's side. Then he hurried toward B. A. and Murdock.
"Enzinina and his man are locked away, waiting for the police to come and arrest them. Hannibal was beaten up pretty badly but he doesn't seem to be injured beyond cuts and br . . . "
He bumped into Dani backing toward him and reached out to keep her from falling. Face peered toward the black Sergeant squatting by the man on the floor and paled.
He isn't moving. And Dani looks terrified.
He stopped, his stomach wrenching inside him. Dani continued on her way to the van but he hardly noticed.
He's lost a lot of blood. Way too much blood. Where's it all coming from?
He stared in disbelief at the two wounds and the ever-widening dark red pool under his best friend's body.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Didn't Hannibal say it was going to be a piece of cake?
Of course, Hannibal would say that when he was "on the jazz." Even that jaunty grin he gave Face when the Lieutenant entered the room where he was being kept was part of "the jazz."
Well, this time "the jazz" may not pull Murdock out of the fire.
As if telling a small child what to do, B. A. repeated his instruction, more urgently this time. "Faceman, get on his other side."
A huge shudder passing through his body, the Lieutenant forced himself to move into position.
Stay with us, buddy. Just stay with us.
oooooo
Hannibal craved a cigar as he sat in the passenger seat of the van. He heard B. A. snap at Face to help him with Murdock and felt helpless to do anything. Dani moved as if in a daze toward the vehicle.
That knife wound must have been worse than I thought.
One of the thugs had pulled a black hood over his head before they left for the warehouse, apparently to prevent him from identifying exactly where they were being taken. He had not had the opportunity to see Murdock between then and now.
The way Face and Dani are acting, it has to be really bad.
Dani stood beside him and hugged him carefully, then pulled back. She cupped his face in her hand, gently directing his eyes to hers. Now that she was no longer at Murdock's side, she focused on him.
"Can you tell if you have any internal injuries? Broken bones?" She scrutinized him as he shook his head.
"Maybe a bruised rib but nothing more serious. They seemed to be practicing on me before doing their real work on Murdock." He brushed her hand away and turned his attention back to the Sergeant and the Lieutenant. "How bad is he?"
This is the second time he's saved my life.
He heard her swallow and choke back a sob. "Bad."
Damn! That's what I thought.
He reached out to squeeze her hand. "If there had been any other way to drive Enzinina out of hiding . . . "
"It wasn't your fault, Hannibal. He went with you to meet Enzinina because he wanted to protect me."
He looked at her, saw her flinch as B. A. and Face lifted Murdock between them and staggered carrying him to the van.
"I came up with the plan."
And not only this one but also the one that got her on the hit list to begin with.
"If anyone's to blame, it's me. I'm the one with the contract out on my life. I'm the one who walked all those incriminating photos of Mob families in to the Chicago police. I'm a Scalatini. I have a target on me because of my name and connection. And anyone who loves me has the same target on them." Her voice was soft and insistent. Her gaze was centered on Murdock.
Hannibal gripped her by the elbow before she could turn away. Adjusting their hold on Murdock as they neared the front of the van, Face and B. A. gave them anxious glances. The pilot hung limply between them. The Colonel muttered to Dani, "Don't blame yourself and don't hurt him by walking away. He needs you. We'll talk later. Okay?"
Her eyes brimmed with tears again as she nodded and shakily got in the back seat. A few seconds later, Dani cradled Murdock's upper body in her lap and pressed a large gauze pad against the knife wound. Hannibal got Face to light a cigar for him and he listened to the blonde nurse alternate between whispering calming words to the pilot and crying over him.
oooooo
Even if she was crying, it was the sweetest sound to Murdock's ears. It meant his angel was close. She would be able to return his spirit and soul to where they belonged. Her touch would bring him back into the land of light and love.
As he felt one hand pressing into his side, he sensed the other holding and caressing his hand. He could almost taste the bitterness of the tears he heard her shedding.
Just as he thought he would go insane with the intensity of the pain in his side, he heard Billy's voice.
Th' pain's only fer a li'l while, brother. Don' give up. She hasn't.
He knew that was true. Dani wouldn't give up on him for as long as the stars shone brightly in the sky.
Eternity.
Using every technique the CIA had taught him so that he could endure pain, he fought back against death.
". . . die nächt'ge Dämmrung teilt dein lieber Strahl,
und freundlich zeigst du den Weg aus dem Tal.
(. . . your friendly beam penetrates the twilight gloom
and points the way out from the valley.)"
That's right, brother! Keep singin'. Dani's with ya. She ain' gonna leave ya. Let 'er show ya th' way back.
It was so difficult. The darkness was inviting, painless.
"O du, mein holder Abendstern,
wohl grüsst'ich immer dich so gern . . .
(O my fair evening star,
I always gladly greeted thee . . . )"
But Dani's touch focused him like nothing else could.
" . . . vom Herzen, das sie nie verriet,
grüsse sie, wenn sie vorbei dir zieht,
wenn sie entschwebt dem Tal der Erden . . .
( . . . from a heart that never betrayed its faith,
greet her when she passes,
when she soars above this earthly valley . . . )"
He pushed his way out of the fog, forced his muscles to obey.
And opened his eyes halfway to see the beautiful face of the woman he loved. Heard her gasp with surprised joy.
"H. M.?" She squeezed his hand tighter as tears dripped from her jaw onto her shirt.
". . . ein sel'ger Engel dort zu werden!
( . . . to become a blessed angel in Heaven!)" he whispered. "Angel, darlin'."
oooooo
"Let's go, B. A." The Colonel 's command came out quieter than usual. The Sergeant gunned the van out of the warehouse the way he had come.
"Hospital, Hannibal?" B. A. asked. He knew the answer but wanted the Colonel to confirm it.
Hannibal nodded. "Get Murdock's papers and identification ready, Lieutenant. Miss Scalatini will need them to get him in under his veteran's benefits."
He glanced back at Murdock and Dani. The VA nurse gave him a faint smile before turning her attention back to the man she loved.
She thinks she can protect him by running away after he gets well.
As surely as if she had said it aloud, the Colonel knew that was what he saw in that look. Hannibal promised himself he would do whatever he could to keep Daniela Scalatini from making the biggest mistake in her and Murdock's lives.