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Chapter 2 – Getting Ready for the Attack
Murdock lands the jet at an airfield in Monterey. It's a hundred mile drive inland to Santa Marta, so Face locates a two and a half ton army truck that can make the trek through the jungle on questionable roads to the oil field and the workers who are being besieged by the bandit fighters. By the time he has located the truck and they move their equipment into it, B.A. comes to.
"Where am I? This better not be Mexico, or you all are gonna pay!"
"Oh come on B.A., we had to do all the unloading and reloading. You just slept while we worked." Murdock steps back as B.A. moves toward him.
"I'm tired of this and I don't like the headache I get when I wake up, so you all are gonna have headaches, too."
Hannibal steps between the two of them and puts his arm around B.A. leading him toward the driver's seat of the truck. "Okay B.A. we need to get into the jungle before it gets dark. The roads are hard enough to navigate in the day time, but night's a whole different story. So let's get going."
"Okay for now Hannibal, but I will make sure you all pay for this when we're through. This is only because I don't like drivin' in the jungle after dark, either."
Murdock climbs in the back and Hannibal and Face get up front with B.A. There isn't a window between the cab and the back, just a piece of canvas that hangs down, so Murdock can talk with them if needed. He tries to find a comfy spot to sit down, and ends up on a couple of duffle bags, but it's not comfortable and with the ruts in the road he is being bounced around like a ball. This is going to be a long, hot drive, but it's the only way into the area where they need to go. The oil company is trying to work on roads into their camp, but the bandits have kept them from being able to work without getting shot at all day long.
The sun beating down on the truck is making it miserable for the team. Even with the windows rolled down, there isn't much air coming in and what air does is hot and steamy. After a particularly bad pot hole, Murdock is tossed clear across the back of the truck. He picks himself up and tries to get back where he was sitting, when B.A. hits another hole.
"You know B.A. I am getting bruises on top of my bruises back here. Are you trying to use me as a weird sort of pinball?"
"Shut up fool, I don't have no control over these roads. If you wanna, you can get out and walk cause that's about as fast as I'm driven anyway."
"Maybe I should drive? I could do as good a job as you at hitting these holes. I think you are playing a game and trying to get points for everyone you hit, and the bigger ones must be worth more points."
"This ain't no game! And no, you cain't drive. You cain't even keep it on the road, cause you ain't strong enough."
"Oh yeah, well…"
Murdock is cut off by another ferocious bump from the truck. B.A. giggles and just keeps driving. Hannibal lights another cigar and says, "We should be getting close according to this map. I think maybe another two miles."
Face says, "Great! I may not be bouncing as much as Murdock, but I think I chipped a tooth on that last hole you hit, B.A."
"Grrr. You too, Faceman? Everyone wants to complain, but I don't see you doin' any better driven this road."
"No probably not, but at least you have the wheel to hang on to. We just get to bounce around every time you hit a pothole, or should I say crater."
Just before sunset, the truck pulls into the camp. Hannibal gets out and walks up toward a man that's coming out to meet them.
"You the guys who're supposed to keep these bandits off us while we work?"
"Yep! Hannibal Smith at your service, and the rest of my team, Templeton Peck, Faceman, B.A. Baracus, and Howling Mad Murdock. Have you got a place where we can rest up and go over the layout of the area and the camp perimeter?"
"Sure Mr. Smith. By the way, I'm Tom Blankenship. I'm the sight supervisor here. We've been expecting you, so your quarters are over there and my office is here. I've all the maps and layouts in here, so we can sit down and go over them." He gestures to the two areas.
"Great! Let's sit down and see about making a plan to keep you safe."
Murdock is stretching and trying to work out his sore body, while B.A. just laughs and follows Hannibal into the headquarters. Face waits for Murdock and they slowly trail in behind the others. Everyone but Hannibal and Tom sits down around a big table. Murdock slouches and moans as he rubs his backside. Hannibal leans over the table to get a good look at the map.
"Here's the area map of what Westin Oil owns. As you probably noticed, we've been trying to clear cut the jungle back about one hundred yards so maybe we can have a little more time seeing them coming."
"Not a bad idea. We'll help your men keep that going. Murdock, see if you can't mine several places around the perimeter out past the hundred yards so they can continue their cuttings undisturbed. B.A., lend him a hand and keep a watch for any signs of the slime balls heading toward the camp. Face, see what other areas we need to booby trap, or mine to keep them out and we especially want to move your fuel and ammo area, so we can keep the bandits from getting them. We'll put up some false markings to look like a fuel area, so if they get through our defenses, they won't get the supplies. Can your men stop what they're doing now, so we can get this all done before we get some rest? We'll need some help, since it's getting dark. They might show up tonight, and I want to be ready for them."
"Whatever you think. We've got the manpower, just not the expertise to get this going." Blankenship turns to another man in his office and says, "Bill, go round up the workers and tell them they're receiving their orders from Mr. Smith until further notice." Turning back to Hannibal he says, "I hope we can turn this around. We've already lost several workers and we can't afford to lose anymore. The local hospital can't keep up with our wounded and they aren't getting the best of care there anyway, so I'd like to keep them safe out here without taking them into town."
"It's good there's a hospital close by, but let's make sure it's the bandits who'll be needing it, and not us."
"Right!"
"Okay guys, let's get started."
Murdock slowly stands up and he and B.A. head for the truck and the explosives. Face follows in order to get out some weapons for their use. Then he heads out to make a thorough inspection of the perimeter and buildings. B.A. climbs into the truck and pushes the crate containing mines and other explosive devices toward Murdock at the back of the truck and then jumps down. Murdock attempts to pick up the crate and set it down outside the truck, but it's too heavy. B.A. growls and grabs the crate with ease and sets it down.
"You know B.A. I could've got that, but my muscles are still protesting from being treated like a crash test dummy."
"The dummy part fits. Sure you could've picked it up and then dropped it on your feet and blew us all ta kingdom come. I don't know why Hannibal trusts you with the explosives. It's a wonder we ain't all been blown ta smithereens a long time ago."
"Ha, ha. I know how to handle this stuff and you know it. Now pick it up and let's get going. It's getting awfully dark and I don't like planting bombs while holding a flashlight in my teeth."
B.A. just waves his hand and motions Murdock to get moving, and picks up the crate with the explosives.
Face locates the area where the workers keep their gasoline and what few explosives they have on hand. It's pretty centrally located, but way too obvious. It's a wonder the bandits haven't gotten to it already and blown it up. He yells at a couple of workers and they come over and help him start moving the cans and crates to an open cabin about a hundred yards from this location. He takes one crate and then drops out of this detail to find some paint and supplies to make a few signs for the old dump, dummying it up, so the bandits still think the gas is in the old building. "No sense in my doing the manual labor, they've got plenty of people to do the heavy lifting", he thinks.
Meanwhile, Hannibal is talking with Tom about the bandits and the strategy they've been using.
"Well Mr. Smith, they usually come early in the morning, or late at night, but either way, we're just not prepared to fight with them. Only a couple of our group has seen any combat and one of them got hurt pretty bad the last time they attacked."
"It's Hannibal, Tom, and I would like to meet with all of your men as soon as we get our defenses set up, and see what we're looking at. I don't want to put any of your men at risk unnecessarily, but I'm sure we can use their help. If there isn't an attack tonight, we'll work on some other things in the morning when we can see better, but at least we'll have a start. My men and I'll take a watch, but I'd like some of your guys to help out too, so we can be rested and ready to go when the time comes."
"No problem, Hannibal. I'll start talking to some of them now. I guess we can sit down to some chow in a little while and you can meet with them then. You don't know how relieved I am to have some help here. We've been pretty scared and like I said, we're not really trained for fighting."
"We'll keep you guys safe and then you can do what you need to for your job. If I read these bandits right, they'll probably turn tail after a dose of our medicine."
Once the preparations are finished as best they can for the night, the team moves to the chow hall with the rest of the crew, minus a few who stand watch. The food's pretty good and plentiful and they fill up. Even B.A. and Murdock get enough. Then Hannibal stands up to speak.
"Okay, for those of you who don't know us, we're the A-Team. We've come here to help you get your jobs done without being afraid for your lives. Is there anyone here who has had combat training?" Three men raise their hands. "Only three? Well, you three see this handsome gentleman to my right and he'll line you up with a weapon. The rest of you will just go along with your regular work and there'll be someone close by to keep an eye on the jungle in case there is another attack, which I'm sure there will be sooner or later." I'd like four man shifts to patrol for three hour stints through the night. One of my men, or I, will be out there with you at all times. When you aren't on patrol, I'd like you to get some rest. Tom'll set up your rotations and B.A. here (he claps him on the shoulder) will be on the first watch with you. Let's get started at keeping this site safe."
Everyone gets up to go, when one of the mines Murdock and B.A. planted, goes off.
Hannibal states, "Seems like they found one of our presents. Let's go."
They each grab a weapon and head out into the night. After being in the brightly lit chow hall, the outside is pitch black until their eyes adjust. They can see the fire where whatever hit it is now burning. They spread out, each heading to a different corner of the compound. All is quiet for a few minutes then B.A. yells out, "Colonel, they're comin' from the west. Looks like about three jeep loads. Another mine goes off and another jeep is flipped and rolling over and over in the jungle until it encounters a tree. The last two jeeps stop in their tracks and the team watches the headlights turn into tail lights as the bandits turn tail and drive off, only slowing down to pick up the rest of their men. The men behind the team let out a cheer as they watch their tormentors drive off. Tom comes up to Hannibal and says, "That was easy. I wish you'd of been here three weeks ago."
"Don't get too happy just yet. They'll go back to their base and make plans to come back. If I know anything about bad guys, these were just taken by surprise tonight. They'll be ready for things tomorrow and they'll be even madder than before. Let's set up our guards and get some rest. I think we're in for a battle the next time they come and that could be as early as tomorrow morning."
The three guys minus B.A. walk to their quarters and the rest of the camp, minus three of their men who are helping B.A., also head to bed. The lights go out quickly in most of the buildings, which makes it easier for the patrol to see out, and not so easy for the bandits to see in if they are looking, which of course they are.