Hannibal's heart pounded in his chest like a war drum at top speed, he felt his chest heave up and down with every couple beats. He forced his eyes open, but it took several quick paced blinks before he was able to keep them open and focus. He was laid out on a bed in one of the apartments, still in his black suit and white dress shirt, but he could feel that somebody had relieved him of his wig and facial latex. He pressed one hand hard into the mattress to push himself up in a sitting position, luckily he managed on the first try. He looked around the room and didn't see anybody. He got to his feet and went to the door, opened the door and stepped out into the living room of the apartment.
"You alright, Hannibal?" Face asked as they got up from the couch.
"Ah…" Hannibal closed his eyes for a second and pressed a hand across his face bit by bit before opening his eyes again and saying, "Yeah…fine…what happened?"
Melissa Morrison stood up, and seeing her at her full height, and build, Hannibal did a double take and turned on his heel, murmuring to himself, "Ah geez." He turned to the front again and asked, "Does the Jolly Green Giant know his girlfriend's missing?"
"Hey, Hannibal," B.A growled, "Watch it."
Hannibal rolled his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith, I thought you were one of the goons that have been trying to muscle their way in here," Melissa said to him.
"Yeah, let's…" Hannibal felt his stomach and could tell the area was already bruising up, this woman needed their help? "Let's talk about that…B.A. tells us you're having some kind of trouble, what's that about?"
She looked at him as he sat down in a chair across from them, then to the others, and back at Hannibal and said, "Tell you the truth I don't really know, I just know that something ain't right around here."
"Yeah we couldn't help noticing that for a swanky place like this, it's rather vacant," Face spoke up, "What's that about?"
Melissa explained, "A few days ago everybody got a notice, evacuate immediately: possible gas leak, possible faulty wiring, possible asbestos, possible black mold, possible death rays from Mars," she dryly sprawled on, "Everybody was told they'd be notified when it was safe to return, that was 3 days ago, now how long does it take to check for mold, check for gas, check for anything?"
"But you suspected something was wrong before that," Hannibal deduced based on the timeline, the simple fact that they'd only set out to find her 3 days ago.
"Yeah," she answered, "Weird things have been going on in this building, things that don't make much sense, and I don't believe in ghosts."
"What kinda things, Melissa?" B.A. asked.
"Three people in this building almost fell to their deaths last week because the elevator wouldn't come to the right floor," she explained, "The doors opened and nobody looks before stepping in, they almost fell down the shaft."
"The elevator worked fine today," Face said.
"Because nobody's here," Melissa told him.
"What else?" Murdock asked, genuinely intrigued.
She looked completely helpless as she tried to explain, and got stuck before she could even speak, it was obvious she didn't expect anybody to believe what she was going to say, "This building has a night guard assigned to it, or did, you know, make sure nobody comes in who doesn't belong, make sure nobody vandalizes the hallways or the elevators or anything, that kind of stuff. This place is pretty prestige and so are most of the residents, so the city decided they're worth the extra security."
"Yeah," Hannibal said.
"The last two walked off the job," Melissa said, "A couple of grown men who said their nerves couldn't put up with what happened during the nights."
"Like what?" Face wanted to know.
Melissa shook her head and gestured helplessly as she explained, "Things falling down the stairs by themselves, windows opening when there's nobody there, doors slamming by themselves."
"Sounds like poltergeists to me," Murdock said.
"Shut up, fool," B.A. warned him.
"It sounds like a rerun of Scooby Doo to me," Face added.
"It's more than that, lights go out randomly, the furnace and air conditioning kick on at the wrong times at full blast, security cameras go out, the closed circuit TV on the main floor cuts out…"
"That sounds like an electrical problem," Face said.
"It sounds," Hannibal replied, "Like somebody's trying to scare you out of here."
"Oh they are," Melissa told him, "But not by making the place seem haunted. The elevator was a subtle threat. A sign."
"Like what, 'Repent, the end is near'?" Murdock asked.
"Shut up, fool," B.A. grumbled.
"Uh, how about 'Severe tire damage'?" Murdock asked, "…'No trucks'? Ah…'Hospital Zone', right?"
"The other day, I got curious and came back…there were no trucks from the city, no working crews, I came up back to my apartment, and I could hear people talking through the air vent in the floor. I couldn't make out any names but whoever it was, I heard them talk about making sure everybody's out of the building and stays out. I've been laying low here since, but this morning they found out I was still here…I was knocked out, and the rest is history."
"Hmm," Hannibal was thinking, "Have you got any idea what it's all about?"
Melissa shook her head, "I moved in here about 3 years ago, I don't know who lived here before that, I don't know half of the people living here now…"
"What about the building?" Hannibal asked, "What do you know about it?"
"Well it's over 30 years old," she said, "It's taken a while for some of the stuff around here to get renovated with the newer technological advances."
"It's not going to be torn down, is it?" Hannibal asked.
"Hardly."
"Okay, so we can eliminate the possibility there's a dead body in the pillars somebody doesn't want anybody to find out about," Hannibal said.
"Is he serious?" Melissa asked B.A.
"With Hannibal?" B.A. asked, "Who knows?"
"Has anybody made an offer to buy, or sell the building?" Hannibal asked.
"You'd have to check that with the owner, but as far as I'm aware, no," Melissa answered.
"So that leaves the possibility they're looking for something they think is here, but what?" Face asked.
"That's a good question," Melissa said, "I've been over most of it myself and I haven't been able to find anything."
"How about the basement?"
"I've been down there, I couldn't find anything anybody would want down there."
"What about the penthouse upstairs?" Hannibal asked.
"That's where they were holding me," she said, "I didn't see anything but I can't account for the time I was unconscious."
"Hey Hannibal," B.A. spoke up, "When we catch this dude I'm gonna stomp on him, mash his head to the carpet and I'm gonna break his legs off."
Melissa reached over and patted B.A. on the chest and said, "That's what I like about you, B.A., you're all heart."
Under her touch, B.A. seemed to melt, he tried to casually chuckle at her comment but instead it turned into a high pitched giggle, which he promptly swallowed and said to her, "Well you know, I try."
Face and Murdock looked at each other with rolled eyes and twisted smirks just about to bust loose laughing.
"So that leaves a few possibilities we have to consider," Hannibal said, and realized, "Where is everybody? There was nobody here when we came, the whole building's quiet, where did they go?"
"Got me," Melissa said, "If I had to guess I'd say whatever they were looking for, either they haven't found it or they found part of it and are coming back for the rest. Everything they've made happen to try and drive people out of here, you don't do all that just to get everyone out for a few days."
"What kind of people live here? Do you know that?" Hannibal asked her.
"The kind who can afford to live here," she said, "That's about all."
"How do you afford it?" Murdock asked.
"Murdock," Hannibal chided.
"Actually," Melissa gave a small embarrassed laugh at the sudden question, "I don't like talking about that, if it's alright with you."
"Well we can understand that, but it's not alright with us," Hannibal said, "We need to know everything about a client before we work for them."
B.A. was starting to growl, but Melissa put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention and she said, "I guess that was to be expected…I was the only grandchild when my grandfather died, he was a millionaire, he willed his money to me."
"Ah, an heiress," Face murmured softly, several ideas already roaming around in his head.
"Hey Face," B.A. scowled at him, "Whatever you're thinking of you better stop thinking it or I'm gonna beat them thoughts right out of your head."
"Wouldn't dream of it, B.A.," Face replied.
"Not without stipulations," Melissa told them, "I didn't move here, this apartment was my grandfather's, his will stated I have to live here for 5 years to collect my full inheritance, he never bothered to explain why, not to his lawyer, or to anyone else, but his attorney's making full certain to hold me to it."
"You mean you can't move out?" Face asked.
"There's no opposition to me owning other property, or living in it short term," Melissa said, "But the old man said I had to stay here primarily for 5 years and keep it in good condition, otherwise the money's turned over to another benefactor."
"Who's that?" Murdock asked.
"The United States Army."
"Excuse me?" Face asked.
"Grandpa was always a weird one," Melissa explained, "He apparently got it in his head if I proved unworthy of the money, that it could benefit Uncle Sam's boys while they're serving over in Palestine or some place like that."
"Did it ever occur to you that there's a reason he forced you to stay here?" Hannibal asked.
Melissa shook her head, "It can't be because there's something here he wants me to find…I spent the first 6 months tearing the place up and putting it back together, brick by brick, floorboard by floorboard, there's nothing. He was just an old kook."
"And yet somebody wants everybody out of this building," Hannibal said, "Why? What are they looking for?"
"I wish I knew," she replied, "Could put an end to all this insanity long before now."
"Well, what we know already and what we can deduce is that whoever's doing it, clearly isn't anybody too big and powerful," Hannibal said.
"How do you know that?" Melissa asked.
"Because," Hannibal said, "We've already cleared with some of the local law enforcement that this building is off limits."
"Because Hannibal fooled them into thinking he's a rich and powerful actor," B.A. rolled his eyes.
"They ate it up with a spoon…so whoever's pulling the strings around here apparently doesn't have the local police department paid off…otherwise they'd march in here and all up and down the place happy as they please, show off their faces, drop their names, to show they have no fear of the authorities. But they're hiding, meaning they don't have that card up their sleeve."
"A rarity for our cases," Face acknowledged.
"And whoever it is, is clearly working largely alone, because nobody said one word to us about the building even being evacuated, no gas leak, no black mold, no anything, they had no qualms about us filming in here," Hannibal continued, "So this is all a very cleverly orchestrated plan by a small few with no favors to call in from the city officials or the city's public servants."
"Which should help us some, but not much," Face added.
"We've got some work to do, and fast if we want to figure anything out before they come back," Hannibal said as he stood up, "Let's get started."
The others stood up as well, Melissa stepped around the coffee table and clapped her hand hard on Hannibal's shoulder and said to him, "This isn't any of my business, but don't you think you should change your clothes first, James Bond?"
Hannibal looked down at his clothes and hesitantly complied, "Might be a good idea. B.A., where's that bag I brought when we came in?"
"Down on the first floor," B.A. answered.
"Well get it," he said, "Murdock, you start checking out the penthouse, see if you find anything, Face, you take the basement."
"The basement?" Face repeated in disgust.
"Yes, the basement," B.A. said gruffly.
"Okay," Face gave in.
"Since the evacuation notices told everybody they were testing for mold, a gas leak, whatever, that means the apartments were left unlocked so they could all be checked for the source of the problem, which means we can check them out and see if anything that was left behind can tell us something, or give us any idea what kind of people we're dealing with."
Melissa stood back and watched them move around the room and she said to Hannibal, "You guys are a regular 3 ring circus, aren't you?"
"Believe it or not, that's not the first time I've heard that," he replied.
"What should I do?" she asked him.
Hannibal looked around to make sure B.A. was gone, and he was, as were the others, and he said to Melissa, "Look, there's no polite way to say this, if you want something to do, either get out of the building, or just figure out how to stay out of our way, there's no work around here for a woman."
He walked past Melissa and two seconds later he felt his arm in an iron vise as it was jerked high up behind his back in a death grip.
"What was that?" she asked him casually.
Hannibal felt the muscles in his arm about to tear and managing to hold back a groan, he amended, "I said…you can help us." Melissa let go of him, and putting a few feet of distance between them, he turned around and grabbed his arm and said, "You said there's a closed circuit TV downstairs, see if it's working, see if there's anybody around that we don't know about, let us know if anybody comes."
"Fine."
"Miss Morrison," Hannibal called to her, "Exactly how is it that you and B.A. met?"
"It was at a wrestling event," she answered.
"Ah-huh, competing were you?" Hannibal asked. To his own surprise he just about jumped when she made a move towards him, raising his hands in surrender he said as he scurried back towards the bedroom, "Alright, alright, I'm going…incidentally you don't mind if I change my clothes in here, do you?"
"Don't touch anything," she told him.
"Right," he said as he opened the door and stepped in.
"Hey," Melissa walked over to the door and stuck her head in.
"Yeah?" Hannibal asked as he shed his jacket.
"Don't take anything either," she told him.
A weird one, Hannibal said to himself as he unbuttoned his shirt, somehow he had the feeling this would prove one of their more interesting missions. He caught his reflection in her full length mirror as he pulled his shirt open, his stomach was already black and purple in spots from where she'd kicked him, a fine impression of her heel dented in his flesh. He guessed he should be thankful she didn't perforate him with those spiked heels. Brother. Most of the women Hannibal had known over the years would do well to hold their own against a lightweight, but this crazy chick? Why she'd need anybody's help was beyond him…but then he remembered, Maiden Marian was just as skilled in bow and arrow and in swords as Robin Hood, but even she could only do so much when it was a fight of 5 to 1. And to go through a building this size to find something, it was a very safe bet they were dealing with far more than just five criminal lowlifes here. So the question remained…where were they?
So far it had been a very interesting story that actually did sound believable because it was just about too ridiculous to be made up, and yet…there was something about his whole thing that Hannibal didn't trust. Maybe it was just the bruising on his abdomen, but he had a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach about this case. Something about that woman…Hannibal knew his men, knew they all had good heads on their shoulders, screwed down tight, okay so maybe Murdock's wasn't on so tight…all the same, they generally had the sense to know when a skirt was a trap, though Face usually had the most trouble making that distinction. But B.A., they didn't come any more level headed than that man, in spite of his choice of appearance, and his rotten attitude, that he could possibly be conned into something by a woman was mind blowing.
Then again…now Hannibal's stomach really started to turn, B.A. did have a soft spot, for children and women. He didn't think that his Sergeant liked to think women were capable of being deceitful, manipulative works of evil, not of their own volition; if they were strong armed into being with a guy who was like that, sure, or tricked into being with them, but on their own…none of the guys on the Team liked to think that way, but history showed it was not only true, but common. A little fact they tended to forget in time, the way society rewrote history and wiped out all the strong, powerful, assertive, violent and even barbaric women: time had taken the sword and the bow and arrow out of Marian's hands and stuck her in a tower waiting for Robin Hood to rescue her like Rapunzel. Real life had done the same butchering rewrite of women in history; the soldiers and snipers and bomber pilots and vigilantes had all been wiped out with a bottle of White-Out and replaced with images of idle, sedate, seen and not heard women in long gowns and bustles, bonnets and crowns, who stood back at their loom or the stove or with a baby, while the men were the conquerors and heroes. It was no wonder the whole world was so confused by the time the history books were reprinted. And all of that said, he was starting to have a lot of thoughts about this woman, and not all of them good. The problem was he knew just how hazardous it would be to his health to bring any of this up with his Sergeant, so he was just going to have to keep an eye on things for himself.