BA, a shovel, now that's no disguise.

- Hannibal, "Showdown"

Chapter 4: Cons and Disguises

The sitting room of the penthouse suite at the Hilton and Towers was exquisitely decorated. The cream colored walls complimented the light blue plush Persian carpet. These lighter tones tastefully contrasted with the black leather couch, loveseat, and chairs, but also with the cherry wood and gold accents, including the floorboards, end tables, coffee table and the desk.

The wet bar also bore cherry toned woodwork, but also a polished black marble top with specks of gold within the lines. Standing behind the bar was Templeton Peck, who looked to be much warmer than he had been during the mad dash from the plane. His wind-blown hair was back in its perfectly combed state, with nary a strand out of place, before his encounter with the unofficial reason why Chicago was called the Windy City.

The real reason for the nickname was because of the politicians within Chicago. Most of them were blow hards that were full of hot air. Of course, this came from the long debates that they had in the council chambers of city hall. But, as the city rebuilt after the great Chicago fire and scores of tall buildings went up, lining the city streets, it created a wind tunnel effect. Sometimes the winds could be so strong that people were, quite literally, swept off their feet, hence the more popular reason for the nickname.

Pulling out a bottle from behind the bar, Face examined the label with an appreciative eye. "Hmmm . . . Chardonnay, and not a bad year either," he appraised. If he could, and they didn't have to visit Mrs. B, he'd spend most of the time here in this penthouse suite, wining and dining the beautiful women of Chicago. After all, it wasn't often that they had a chance to visit this beautiful city. Reluctantly, he returned the bottle to the small wine fridge underneath the counter of the wet bar and then wandered over to the sofa where he sat down.

Hannibal sat on the love seat, rooting through the one of the two bags that he had personally carried. This was the one that hadn't been emptied at the airport when he pulled out the jackets. A cigar hung from the corner of his mouth, although his face didn't betray whatever thoughts were rolling around in his mind as to what was in the bag or how they were going to use it. He had told BA that it contained a surprise so they could get past the MPs to see his mother. The others would find out soon enough what was inside as he revealed his plan to them.

BA paced the room almost like a caged tiger. From the moment he regained consciousness on the plane, his only thoughts were going to see his mother. He had wanted to go there directly, but Hannibal insisted that they check into the hotel first, which only delayed that visit. Face and Murdock were from warmer environments, southern California and Texas respectively, so they weren't used to the cold harsh winters like he and Hannibal were. The Colonel wanted the con man and the pilot to have a chance to warm up a bit so they wouldn't get sick. But, they had been in the penthouse for nearly an hour now. Wasn't that long enough for the two of them to warm up? Turning to Hannibal, he glared at the Colonel and reminded him, "C'mon, man, I wanna see my Mama."

"In a bit, BA," Hannibal responded, unfazed by the muscular Sergeant's fierce scowl. In fact, he had never even looked up from the mystery bag that he was rummaging through. "I'm just finalizing our plan and making sure that we have everything we need to get past the MPs."

Murdock had been wandering around the room, picking up various items to look at it, and then returned them to their proper place. Once he had gotten bored with that, he opened up the expansive entertainment center and grabbed the remote control. Turning on the TV, he flipped through the channels until he settled on WGN and a rerun of "Hardrock, Coco, and Joe." The classic stop-animation show was a holiday classic around Chicago and aired every single year on the station owned by the same paper that produced the Chicago Tribune. "Nice place, Face. How'd you scam it?" he asked with his thick Texan drawl.

BA and Hannibal both stopped what they were doing and looked directly at the con artist. They were just as eager to find out how he managed to secure the luxury penthouse at such a reputable establishment without it costing them a single red cent.

"What can I say, guys?" Face asked innocently, as a grin spread across his lips. He couldn't just go out and share all of his tricks. As a con artist, he had to have a few aces up his sleeve . . . even quite literally when playing cards. It was best to have them believe that he could perform virtual miracles with obtaining places to stay, supplies, and transportation . . . to keep them in awe of his sheer talents. "It takes charm, wit, and the ability to know what to say when. If you guys only knew the timing it takes to pull these off . . ." he began to mention.

"What was her name, Face?" Hannibal asked, grinning around the cigar clenched between his teeth. There was something that the young Lieutenant wasn't telling them. His most successful scams often meant pulling the eyes over some poor girl, who would be ready to bear his children if he so much as said the word by the time everything was said and done.

"Megan," he admitted with a bit of a sigh, almost as if mentally recounting her beautiful features like she was standing before him right then and there. She really was beautiful . . . a slender figure in great proportion, great curves, golden hair that seemed like the sun caught on fire, and emerald green eyes that sparkled like jewels. Inwardly, he was slightly disgusted because the guys just had no appreciation for the 'intricacies' of his job, or the lengths he had to go through in order to get them whatever they wanted. But, depending on how long they ended up staying, there was a chance that he could get a date with her . . . a thought that brought another smile to his lips.

Hannibal laughed and returned his focus to digging around in the bag at his feet. Ah! There it was . . . the first bundle that he wanted to pull out. And the others were also in there as well. He had taken the time in Los Angeles to prepare these things, with all of the necessary items to go with it, and put the bundles together to make it easier for once they got here to Chicago. He hadn't told anyone about what he did though, keeping it as a surprise as he continued to formulate his plan.

Murdock was the first to notice the Colonel digging around within the bag. Their esteemed leader had never said a single word about what was inside, so this brought about an intense curiosity. What exactly did he have in that bag, and why was he keeping it a total mystery from all of them? Plus he looked like he was on the Jazz already, and they hadn't even done much of anything yet besides landing in Chicago and getting settled into the hotel. Using the remote for the TV that was still in his hands, he muted the volume and then turned to his Commanding Officer, "Hey, Hannibal, what'cha got in that bag?"

"Well, Murdock, I thought you'd never ask," Hannibal noted, almost as if he had expected someone to have asked that question some time ago. After all, he had been keeping the bag and its contents a total mystery from everyone. This was going to be good. "In here, I have the tools that'll allow us to sneak past the MPs watching Mrs. B's apartment so we can get in to see her."

Hearing the word tools was enough to draw BA's attention, thinking that there was something he'd have to build. Knowing Hannibal as he did, he had always preferred the front door approach. He wasn't going to do something that'd blow up half the neighborhood just so they could get in there, would he? "What kinda tools, Hannibal?" BA wondered, hoping he wouldn't regret asking about it.

Without even saying a word, Hannibal pulled out the first bundle . . . something that had red fabric. He tossed it over to BA, who deftly caught it. There was a mischievous grin on his face, and a twinkle in his eye as he saw BA untie the bundle and look at what he was just given. He dug around in the bag, not even waiting for the response, in order to pull out the rest of the items for BA.

The master mechanic untied the bundle and unfolded it. He examined the fabric with an almost disgusted look. He couldn't believe that the Colonel was going to have him do this, just to see his Mama. He was going to look ridiculous! "Aw, Hannibal," BA groaned, his voice dangerously close to a whine. "Not the Santa costume. Why can't I be a repairman or somethin' like that?"

"Now, BA," Hannibal started to say, his voice very patient as he fished the rest of the items for the Santa costume out of the bag. He pulled out the white beard and black boots and got up from where he was sitting. He handed it to his Sergeant who grumbled under his breath and looked practically disgusted that he had to do this just to see his mother. "You know you're the hardest one to disguise. Those MPs watching Mrs. B's apartment building are looking for you specifically, and the repairman costume just wouldn't work. Besides, it's Christmas," he added with a devilish grin.

"C'mon, big guy," Murdock crooned with a grin on his face that practically matched Hannibal's. "I think you'd make a great Santa!" There was a threatening growl from BA hurled at his direction, which caused the pilot to act swiftly. He shot up from the chair and danced out of reach of BA's threatening fists before the menacing muscular Sergeant could do him any physical harm.

"Yeah, BA," Face agreed, trying to bring his fashion sense into the banter. "Red is definitely your color."

"You gonna be seein' red in a minute, suckas," BA shot back threateningly, as he moved toward both the Supply Officer and the pilot. There was some stuff that he could put up with, but teasing was not one of those things. The guys did it often and, while they really meant no harm, it reminded him a bit too much of the old neighborhood and being bullied. That was obviously before he made it a point to become strong, physically and mentally, so he would never be bullied again.

Hannibal walked over to the bag and pulled out another bundle. He stepped between the pilot and the approaching Sergeant, and handed the Texan what he had just pulled out from his bag. He turned back to BA for a moment and held up a hand to him, almost as if a silent indication that he was going to love what was about to come next, and then returned to face the institutionalized member of the Team. If BA thought his costume was bad enough . . .

"Here, Murdock," Hannibal told him with a grin. "You can be his elf!"

Murdock untangled the bundle and held it up. His eyes became as wide as saucers, and his jaw dropped as he looked over the forest green outfit. He couldn't believe that the Colonel was going to make him wear this! "Tights?!" he asked incredulously. "Hannibal, you've got to be kidding!"

Upon seeing Murdock's outfit, BA's anger was immediately gone and he dissolved into giggles. He sat down in one of the chairs, unable to stop his high pitched snickering, his own disguise forgotten as he realized that the pilot actually had the more ridiculous costume of the two of them. In a way, it seemed just like Hannibal to pull a surprise like this.

Templeton Peck had also joined in with the laughter as well. In fact, he was laughing so hard that his face was turning red! He hated to laugh at his best friend's misfortune, but that disguise was just too good of an outfit to pass up. He really had to hand it to Hannibal with his selections so far. The MPs wouldn't recognize either one of them. Finally, after a moment, he was finally able to catch his breath as he told the pilot, "Look at this way, Murdock. The ladies will love it." No sooner had he said that, he burst into another fit of laughter that almost doubled him over.

Murdock glared at Face for a moment. It was bad enough for Hannibal to have given him that outfit, but for his friend to be laughing at him like that? That's when he realized that Hannibal had only pulled out two disguises, and the bag still had some shape to it so there had to have been more to come. He looked pleadingly to the Colonel, who had returned to the bag and was already digging out something else from it.

Hannibal had almost an evil gleam in his eyes as he looked at his red-faced Lieutenant. He pulled out the last bundle from the bag and stood up, walking over to hand it to him. "I certainly hope so, Face, because you're going to get a first hand chance to find out," he chuckled.

Curious as to what the Colonel had meant by that, Face started to unfold the nondescript gray bundle that had been handed to him. Once it was unfolded enough, he realized what was right in his hands . . . an ugly gray dress and a gray wig to go with it. While Murdock's jaw dropped at the thought of wearing tights, Face's practically hit the floor!

Momentarily forgetting about his own ridiculous outfit, along with the shock of having to wear tights, a grin started to return to Murdock's face as he saw what Face had to wear. Although Murdock had dressed like a woman before a couple of times, this was going to be the first time that his friend would have to do so. Not just dress like a woman, but an old hag! With his rich tenor voice, he began to sing, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer . . ."

Although normally he was annoyed by Murdock's antics, this time around BA giggled even harder due to what the pilot started singing after seeing Face's outfit. Compared to the other two, his wasn't so bad. After all, he would be representing the most iconic figure in the world during this time of season. He was starting to enjoy this, and they hadn't even left to go see his Mama.

Face scowled viciously at the Texan and gave BA a baleful glare. For someone as dignified as himself, having to wear the outfit that the Colonel gave him made the term humiliating seem like a gross understatement! This was as far beyond humiliating as one could possibly get. But, as he looked to BA and Murdock, he started to realize something. They had all gotten outfits to wear except for one person. Speaking up in order to be heard over Murdock's singing, he asked sharply, "What about you, Hannibal? What are you going to be wearing?"

Hannibal pulled his cigar out from his mouth and waved his hand around a bit casually, "I'm going to be your poor blind husband." If Hannibal's grin could grow any bigger, it sure did right then and there. He was on the Jazz in a major way, and the others could all see it. But, his response only meant one thing. The rest of them were going to wear those get ups to alter their appearance however, the strategist would be wearing simply a hat, wrap around glasses, and carrying the cane of a blind person.

"What?" Murdock spouted upon hearing Hannibal mention his outfit. Here Hannibal gave them all these crazy costumes to wear, and he'd go in looking practically normal?

Face also picked up on this too, waving his hands in the air as he started to sputter, "You mean we have to wear these ridiculous disguises while you . . ." For the first time in a long time, the con artist was at a complete and total loss for words.

"We all have to make sacrifices, Lieutenant. Besides, it's the best I can come up with. If any of you have a better idea on how to get in the building without the MPs seeing us . . ." Hannibal grinned, offering them a challenge. It was a rare opportunity when he'd give the others a chance to come up with a better plan, and when they simply glared back he knew that he had won. "Good then," he said briskly. "Let's get moving."