Disclaimer: I don't own the A-Team, etc.
A/N: Another chapter, whee! Thanks to all of you who are sticking with the story so far!
Face hadn't dozed off…that'd just be plain stupid, and his nerves wouldn't have allowed it even if he wanted to. He had, however, slid into a kind of funk where he was alternating between staring numbly at the TV, watching the shadows lengthen as the sun dropped lower, and side-glancing at a mostly-asleep Murdock on the couch beside him. It had been almost two hours since talking to Hannibal on the phone. Said phone was now in Face's hand, and he was half a moment away from dialing the colonel just to check in when the damn thing went off. Face jumped at the unexpected sound, and Murdock jolted awake, dropping the car keys in the process.
"How's that plan coming, Boss?" Face spoke quietly, returning the keys to a groggy Murdock.
"It's quick and dirty, but we don't have a choice." Hannibal's voice was grim.
"Well, that's reassuring," Face responded, eyes scanning the commons for eaves droppers. "I take it the situation is more…imminent than we realized?"
"You could say that, yes. The crowd Mr. Lynch is running with…they're not your typical Company men. Which means they may be operating outside the law."
"Is that really a headliner?"
"Let's just say the lawlessness is a little more severe than normal," Hannibal specified.
"Fantastic."
"Oh it gets worse. The 'new' Lynch-he's actually the old Lynch." There were a couple moments of silence while Face absorbed what he'd just been told. Lynch…as in Burress…was still alive?
"Wait, what? But…your intel said…" Face trailed off, looking around warily once again. Murdock had turned an uncertain gaze on him now, reading the alarm in the conman's response.
"I know what it said, Lieutenant, and it came from a very reliable source, but I've just seen sat imagery of him that's date stamped after his supposed termination date. We did significant digging to confirm it; it's the Lynch."
Face pressed his fingertips into the bridge of his nose. It would've been great if Murdock had let him in on that little detail. Unfortunately, the pilot wasn't really up to extensive conversation at the moment.
"But…what does that mean?" he questioned. "What does he want out of all this?"
"What do you think he wants?" Hannibal replied. "He's gotta be brain-blitzing Murdock either for information or to lure us in, because I certainly don't buy this bullshit about him suddenly being upgraded to a major flight risk. He wants us captured, or worse. Now more than ever, after what happened at the docks. That or his higher-ups are using him to serve a similar purpose."
"It's difficult, being so popular," Face commented dryly.
"Yes, well, we're not sticking around to give anyone autographs. B.A. and I are going to be there in about and ninety minutes. We're going to pull an inspection maneuver. In the meantime, you need to make yourself scarce."
"Hannibal-"
"I am not going to argue with you about this again, Face. I'm not saying you have to drive to the next county, but you need to distance yourself and lie low until we're closer. There's indication that Lynch and a couple of his flunkies are checking in with the ward tonight, but we're not sure about the timetable."
"Are you serious?" Face's eyes darted toward the main entrance, paranoia returning. "Colonel, if the situation is really this dire, if they could really show up at any moment, shouldn't I just-"
"Listen to me. If you are there when they arrive, all hell is going to break loose, and we are going to lose Murdock. Do you understand? They'll transfer him to God knows where, and you'll be in federal prison. And that is the best case scenario, let me remind you. It's going to be risky enough with all four of us, especially with Murdock in such a state."
Face shifted his gaze back to the pilot, who looked as though he wanted to either demand information about what was going on or cover his ears to block it all out.
"Face." Hannibal snapped.
"All right! All right, understood." Face sighed heavily. "This is not my favorite plan, Hannibal."
"It's not mine either, kid, but it's the only one I've got. I'll ring you when we're close."
"What about the supplies?"
"We'll deal with that when we get there. It's part of the plan."
"All right. I'll let you know if Lynch shows."
"Good. See you soon."
Hannibal hung up and Face did the same before reaching for his jacket.
"Murdock…I think I'm gonna need those keys," he said slowly.
"No!" the pilot immediately leaned away from him. Face cringed at the volume of his response. Murdock was visibly trying to reel in a rising panic. "You said you weren't going to leave me here, Face!"
"Murdock, I'm not leaving, I'm-"
"Then what the hell do you need the keys for?"
Face held his hands up in a calming gesture, and turned his face away from the direction of the nurse's station, tilting his head to emphasize discretion. "They have to think I'm not here, or things might not go as planned," he stressed the word to indicate it was part of the colonel's grand design. "We might be having company soon, if you know what I mean."
"And you're going to leave me?"
"Murdock. I am not leaving you behind, do you hear me? I have to…to hide, because if Lynch gets here and we don't have backup, I don't know if I can get us out. If I can't get us out, we're going to be in a lot of trouble, and we're going to be separated."
Murdock rubbed a shaking hand over his eyes and Face almost felt shaky too, watching the pilot struggle so hard to pull himself together.
"Okay," Murdock said finally. "Ok. Go 'head and hide." He gave Face the keys, flinching when they left his hand. Face stared at him, more and more frustrated with the whole shitty situation.
"Fuck it," the conman declared finally. He worked the ignition key off the ring. "Take this. But you've gotta keep it out of sight. Especially if that damn orderly comes back around." He put the single key back in the pilot's hand. "I can't really leave without that key, ok? Don't forget that."
"Okay…" the pilot answered, like a man who'd just been last-minute pardoned from an execution. Face started to get up and then turned back, dropping to the couch one more time. "Murdock, if they give you evening meds before I come back you have to take them."
The dread was creeping back in to the pilot's expression.
"Murdock, you have to. I know-I know it makes you feel awful. I know. But you can't cold turkey that stuff, and you've gotta try to stick to the routine tonight or you'll draw too much attention." Now he looked flat-out horrified. Face trudged on. "I promise when we get you out of here we're going to get you back on track, buddy, just…just trust me, all right?"
"All right," Murdock echoed.
"Ninety minutes," Face told him quietly, glancing at the nurse's station again. "That's the colonel's ETA." He got to his feet again. "I'll be back. Remember, you gotta hide that key."
Reluctantly, he left the pilot sitting there, not trusting his resolve enough to look back. Now he just had to find somewhere to hide out that didn't involve driving or security cameras, or a hundred other potentially sticky factors.
"Piece of cake," the conman muttered darkly.
A/N: More to come soon...thanks for reading!