Chapter 8 – The "Plan"
Det. Johnson shows up at the apartment about six, just as they are sitting down to sandwiches and chips. "Would you like to join us?" asks Murdock. "It's not much, but we haven't gone shopping lately."
"Sure, why not. I haven't eaten anything since eleven. The reason I stopped by, though, is to give you the details of the autopsy on Roberto. The crime lab says he was shot, point blank, in the back of the head, then drug for several yards. The dragging has turned out to be our most productive clue. Of course he was dumped in that alley. That's not where he was killed, but in the scuff marks on his shoes, they pulled particulates off, that place him somewhere in the San Pedro area. Something to do with the type of sand and other things, I don't understand everything they do down there in the lab, but they seem to be pretty sure of their findings. That is still a lot of ground to cover, but if we think about it, there are a bunch of warehouses down there and they would make good hideouts for a group of scumball robbers. What do you think?"
"It's something. Hey B.A., do you think we could get our hands on one of those listening devices? You know the ones they use on tv, where you can listen into buildings and pick up conversations?"
"I don't know Face, those are pretty hard ta get ahold of, but I'll see what I can do. You might have ta help me get them, you know what I mean?"
Face knows exactly what B.A. means. He might have to scam the stuff they need, but he doesn't want to say anything in front of "company".
"I just think we could go down in that area, and drive around, listening, to the different buildings to see if we can hear the robbers talking." Face thinks this might work.
"Do we have any idea about the reason behind the robberies?" Murdock asks as he reaches for an apple at the end of the table. "I mean are they just robberies, or is the money for staging something else?"
"I wish I knew. I "feel" that if they are just robbing banks, they would do it differently. Hit the bank at the most opportune time, for big amounts. They seem to be gathering money, hit and run style, for something bigger. I just don't know what."
"You thinkin' terrorists, or somethin', cause if so, we need ta move fast and get them off the streets before they hurt a lota people." B.A. is getting mad. He slams his right fist into his left palm, the way he used to when he was angry, but it is hard to focus anger, especially when you don't know where to focus it!
"My guts are telling me, something like that, but I have no proof, no leads, no anything to take to anyone else, so that's why I'm turning to you. I hope you can take nothing and find something. I know I am asking a lot, but if it is terrorists, you're right, we have to find them and stop them, before anything else happens."
They all sit there, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Det. Johnson speaks as he rises to go, "Well, that really is all I have now, and I better be going. Thanks for the sandwich." He doesn't need to be let out, so he takes his leave.
"Okay, we need a plan, so let's see what we can do to get this thing solved."
Face is filling Hannibal's shoes now, so he knows he must step up and take the lead. The other two are looking to him for inspiration and leadership, and he has to take the reins between his teeth, and get the job done. "You asked for it now, Hannibal, I am doing the best I can, so either help me, or not, but I've got to get a plan going." He hopes his two friends have not put their faith in the wrong guy. Only time will tell.
The next day they wake up with many things to do. Face decides he needs to freshen up his wardrobe of costumes and other things he uses for disguises and props for his stock in trade. He will put them in a trunk for B.A. to take down to the van. He also gets into his safe and pulls out several fake i.d.s to use if necessary. He hasn't used these for years. Now that he is considered legit, he hasn't conned his way into too many places. "Well I guess I kept them for a reason, maybe this is it," he says to no one but himself.
Murdock is on the internet, looking for different items, new discoveries in science, or gadgets, anything that might help them when they make their move. He finds a new "glue" that looks promising. He hits the print button and puts the copy, neatly folded, into his wallet. "Who knows, it might come in handy." He continues his search and repeats the process on several other unique items.
B.A. gets up and leaves early. He is trying to find the item that Face mentioned. He knows just what he wants, he just has to find one somewhere in L.A. that will not cost too much and also not raise eyebrows when he buys it. This is a unique item that only certain government agencies are supposed to have, so he doesn't want to draw attention to himself, or the team by trying to purchase one. "Let's see, Milt's Electronics on Jefferson has a back room for this type of item. I'll just head over there and see what I can find." He talks out loud, because it helps him to focus on his course of action. He checks and Milt's has them, but man are they expensive. Now it's time to call Face. He should be able to get them cheaper, or maybe free. You never know with Faceman, he can con the spots off a leopard.
Ring. Face answers his cell.
"Hey, B.A. how's it going?"
"Not too good. This guy looked at me sideways and then wanted $5000.00 for this stuff. You think you could get him down a bit?"
"Sure B.A. Where are you?
"Milt's Electronics on Jefferson. Do you know where that is?"
"Yeah, I'll be right there. What did you tell him you wanted it for?"
"I didn't. I just left. That's your department. I can't lie like you do."
"Ok, just hang out somewhere out of sight and I'll be there soon."
Face fills Murdock in on where he is going, then heads out to meet B.A. It takes him about an hour to find the place. He meets with B.A. briefly, then walks in to talk with Milt.
"Good morning. How's it going?"
"Slow."
"Right. Well maybe I can help you out there. You Milt?"
"Yep."
Face flashes his fake F.B.I. badge at him. "Special Agent Peck. Your country needs your help."
"Me, what can I do?"
"Well Milt, what I need is an A6-419 listening device with an R36-508 receiver, and of course all the hardware and cables that go with it."
"What makes you think I carry that kind of stuff?"
"Well Milt, word on the street says you do, and I had Agent Davis check you out a little while ago and he says you do. I need this stuff really quick, cause I'm pursuing a terrorist group and I need to stay one step ahead of them. This is very secretive until we find out what's going on. Ya know what I mean?"
"Why did you come here? Why don't you get it from your warehouse or wherever you get that stuff?"
"Because Milt, I don't have time. You ever deal with the government? Let me tell you, you fill out a requisition. Then you wait six weeks for it to hit the right desk to get signed. Then you wait four, or five weeks more for someone to decide you can have it. Then another six before it gets back to you with a signature on it, and you hope it's the right one, or you start all over. You see Milt, I need this now! I've been trailing these guys, and I don't have time to wait. They could make their move at any time, got it?"
"Okay, I guess. I have to be careful, ya know? I'm not really supposed to have this stuff and I don't want to get in trouble. Lot a fines, and they could shut me down."
"I tell you what. You let me borrow this stuff and when we catch these terrorists, I'll see what I can do to get you a license for carrying these. You know? Kind of a thank you gift for all your help."
"You can do that?"
"I sure can, if we catch the bad guys first. Now, what do you say, can we shake on it and call it a deal?"
"Alright. I guess. Sure."
Face comes out the door a few minutes later, with he hopes all the equipment they need. He and B.A. put it in the back and B.A. looks through the bags to make sure they have everything.
"Looks good, Face."
"Okay B.A., I'll see you back at my place."
"Right, let's go."
B.A. gets back to Face's apartment around 11:00 a.m. He brings in a couple of large paper bags, his tool kit and lunch. "I stopped off for some burgers and fries on the way back. I dunno about you guys, but I'm hungry and those sandwiches Murdock makes don't begin to fill me up."
Murdock looks hurt, but still grabs for the sack of burgers.
"What've you got in the paper bags, your lunch?" He starts to laugh, but cuts it off when he looks at B.A., who is glaring daggers at him.
"No, I got what Face wants, and I'm going ta get it together now, so's we can go out lookin' for those bad guys. Now, you got any other, oh so stupid questions, fool?"
Murdock casually says, "No, not right now, but maybe later. Are you going to eat this, or can I have your other burger?" He only does this to get B.A. to growl at him, and it works.
"Grrrrr, touch my food and I'll eat your arm, sucker."
Face loves the banter between them. It has been a long time, but it seems like only yesterday, now. He grabs some food, and sits down next to B.A. as he starts fiddling with the gadgets he has brought in. He loves watching B.A. work, and as long as he doesn't have to get his hands dirty, he will even help out if necessary.
"What do you think B.A., will it work? I mean, how far is the range on this thing, and will it go through the metal walls of the warehouses?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it can go through the walls. It doesn't have a very long range though, maybe fifty yards."
By eight o'clock, B.A. has everything ready to go. He has the receiver locked into the front of the van, right behind the driver's seat, and the rest of the equipment tucked away here and there where they can get to it, when they need to. The hand-held dish that picks up voices is in the seat by Murdock. They all buckle in, a feature most of them didn't use much in the past, and B.A. starts the drive down to the docks in San Pedro, so they can cruise along the warehouses in hopes of finding the robbers-terrorists? They will soon find out just what they are dealing with, and it is not going to be good.
B.A. decides he will just start at one end of the warehouse area and work his way through the twists and turns, so that they go by each and every building. They move into position near the first building, and turn on the equipment. Murdock is holding the dish by his window and Face has the headphones on to do the listening. Nothing here, so he has Murdock move the dish a little further to his left.
"I'm not picking up anything. Of course they might not be in right now. So do we move on, or wait a while to see if anyone shows?"
Murdock says, "I think we better keep moving. If they are planning something big in the next few days, they should be in their lair, don't you think?"
"I don't like ta agree with Murdock, but I guess we should move on."
"Thanks, B.A., you are a true friend." Murdock states sarcastically.
Face makes the decision and they move on.
"Okay, let's move on slowly down this row."
About four buildings down, they get some activity, but it turns out to be a meeting of disgruntled dock workers. After about an hour, they have not heard anything that would lead them to believe the robbers are in any of these buildings. They take a quick break, for some coffee, milk, and snacks, then decide to keep going on this long row. Murdock's arm is getting tired, so he and B.A. swap spots. As they are moving around to get B.A. into position, the dish goes up and to the right, and quite by accident Face hears something, very faint. "Do you want to put the bomb…" That's all he hears, then B.A. moves the dish again.
"Wait, go back. I think I heard something."
B.A. moves the dish around in different ways, but to no avail. Face can't hear anything like what he thought he had heard. "Let's drive over to the north and left of here, I think that may be where I was picking up the talk about the bomb."
"Bomb! Did you say bomb?" B.A. doesn't like the sound of that.
"Yes, they said something and the last word was definitely bomb," Face explains.
Murdock pulls the van out very slowly, from where they are parked, and moves in the direction Faceman says to go. Face still isn't picking up any more conversations.
"Okay B.A., we need to mark this area on the map, and get out and see what we can see in some of these warehouses."
"Alright, I've got it. Let's go."
They get out of the van as quietly as possible, lock it, and start heading for the closest building. B.A. peels off and goes around the side, looking for another entrance. Murdock and Face move to the main door, and Face looks in. It seems dark inside, no movement so he tries opening the door. No good, it's locked. Without saying a word, he pulls out his lock picks and unlocks the door. He opens it and steps in moving to the left. Murdock comes in after and goes right, still no lights, or signs of anyone here. They both pull out small beamed flashlights and keep moving in the opposite direction of each other around the perimeter of the warehouse. After a few minutes, Murdock picks up a sound further back in and to his left. He switches off his flashlight and holds, waiting to see what is making the noise and whether it will repeat. After a few seconds, hearing only his heart pounding in his ears, he turns his light back on to see B.A. standing only five feet in front of him.
Whispering "B.A. you almost scared me to death, what're you doing?"
"I came in the back, fool. You almost got jumped. I didn't think you would be this far in so fast."
"Well, I am and you are the only thing I have encountered so…" He breaks off when a flashlight beam hits him square in the eyes.
"What're you two doing? Playing hide and seek?" Face thinks it is funny that neither one of them heard him come up.
"Very funny, Faceman! Now I can't see a thing." Murdock is standing with his eyes closed, waiting for the little flash bulb effects from being beamed in the eyes, to calm down and go away.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be anyone in this building. Let's move to the next one." But before he can say another word, a large beam encompasses all three of them.
"Halt! Who's back there? This is the police, so face down on the floor."
Face thinking quickly says, "The police? Great! We just caught this guy working in here and we think he is related to an underground terrorist group."
As he is saying this, he grabs B.A.'s arm as if he is in custody. "He's kind of big, have you got a set of cuffs, I left mine in the van."
Thankfully, B.A. goes along with the "charade" and acts like he is a bad guy trying to get away. Murdock steps up to his other side and grabs B.A.'s right arm. B.A. again tries to struggle free, but not very hard, from the two who are holding him.
"Sure, here are my cuffs. You can borrow them for now, but until I know what's going on, we are all going to take a ride down to the main office."
"Great. Thanks, but we have a van out front. We can take it from here."
"Just who are you guys anyway?"
Face reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a badge (fake of course) and flashes it at the cop in front of him.
"I am Special Agent Jones, and this is Special Agent Dawkins, of Homeland Security."
Murdock also has a badge stashed in his back pocket. He also flashes it at the policeman. He says, "Yeah, we were down here on this investigation into a terrorist group, when we ran across this guy, trying to sneak out the back. He is wanted for a variety of suspicious activities and we have been trailing him for two days."
"Wow, a terrorist group right here in San Pedro, I can't believe it. How come the police haven't heard anything about it?"
"Because it's very hush-hush." Face takes the cuffs and puts them onto B.A.'s wrists. He locks them in front so B.A. can maneuver more easily. It's then he notices that this guy is not a policeman, but a security guard.
"Ah, which guard service are you with? I thought you said 'police' when you came in and caught us."
"Well 'Norton Security' doesn't sound very official so I say 'police', cause it has more affect. Most people stop what they're doing, just like you guys. It made you stop, and I can handle bad guys just like him without being a cop. I've been trying to get on at the academy, but you know how hard that can be."
"Well we gotta go. We need to get him downtown for interrogation as soon as possible."
"Oh! I still can't believe it, and to think I am partially responsible for helping capture a terrorist. Wait til the guys at the office here about this."
"You know officer … Face waits for the officer to fill in his name.
"Connors, Dan Connors."
"Officer Connors", Face continues, "We would rather you keep this sort of on the Q.T. right now. We are in the middle of this investigation and if anything should leak out, well, we might lose the rest of his group and that would be bad, real bad. Okay?"
"Sure, I understand. I just hope when you write your report, you at least mention me, cause I want to move into Homeland Security someday and this might help. You know?"
"You bet kid. We'll put your name into the report, and mention it to our commander. He is always looking for bright, energetic and brave recruits." Murdock is trying not to smile, but he feels if they butter the kid up a bit, he might keep his mouth shut in the hopes of moving up in life.
"Thanks. I mean it. Thanks. Now let me help you guys get him outside. I think my lights a little brighter than yours." Connors leads the way back to the door. The team, with B.A. in tow, follows close on his heels and out the door to the waiting van.
"Gee, this sure is a funny van for Homeland Security."
Murdock unlocks the door, slides it open, and Connors sees all the equipment that B.A. has installed.
"Well, I guess you have everything you need in here." He starts to look around, so Murdock pushes him back gently and places B.A. in the door frame, so Connors can't look too closely. He helps B.A. up since his hands are cuffed.
"You know this could be a matter of life and death, so we need to get going as quickly as possible." Murdock climbs in behind B.A. and slams the door shut.
Face walks around to the driver's door and climbs in. He is followed by Connors, so he starts the engine, tells him thanks again for his help and peels out heading out of the warehouse area and back toward his apartment.
"That was a little too close."
"Hey fool, get these off me." B.A. holds his hands out for Murdock to take off the cuffs.
"Let's see, where is that key? Did he give you a key, Face?" Murdock is patting all of his pockets in an attempt to find the key.
"No, he didn't give me a key. You mean we don't have one?"
"I don't think so…" Murdock is cut off by B.A.'s hands grabbing him by the jacket front.
"You better have a key sucker! I'm not going to run around like this."
"B.A. calm down, I'm sure we can find a key, if not in the van, then in my apartment. Now, please let go of Murdock."
B.A. let's go by shoving Murdock back into the seat. "You better find a key, and soon. B.A. Baracus don't like being handcuffed."
Murdock manages to find a handcuff key in the glove compartment of the van. Who knows when it got placed in there, but that doesn't matter, the important thing is getting the cuffs off of B.A., and the sooner the better.
Face drives them back to his apartment. He and Murdock get out, but B.A. says he sleeps better in his own bed, so he heads to his place. The two say quick good nights and head to their respective rooms. It is too late for Murdock to call Kelly tonight, so he undresses and crawls into bed. His head barely hits the pillow before he is out. The same action takes place in the other room. Face gets into bed and is out just as quickly. It has been a long day, with nothing to show for it, except those words that keep echoing in Face's mind, do you want to put the bomb… They have got to find the building where that conversation was coming from, and they need to find it fast.