42 A Choice to Make
Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.
Hannibal's gaze settled on the side door of the van.
Chuckling, the Colonel took the three steps between the car and van and opened the door with a flourish. Standing aside, he narrowly missed a wild kick.
Hannibal pinned Scott's bound legs under his own bent knee. Clutching the kid's shirt in both hands, he drew him up into a sitting position. He smiled. "The owner of this van won't like how you treated it, son."
Scott glared at him, breathing hard from his efforts to wriggle out of the ropes.
"And I'm guessing you aren't very happy to see me." The Colonel stood up and hooked his arms under those of the young man's. He dragged Scott to a grassy spot just ahead of the sedan's headlights and left him face down in the overgrown weeds. "Wait here."
Opening the rear door of the sedan, Hannibal bent to look in. "Ready to make the transfer, Lieutenant?"
"I think I can make it under my own power . . . " Face's voice trailed off as he gave Melody a weak smile. "Just get me on my feet, Hannibal."
The Colonel didn't know if that was a show for the young woman but as soon as the con man was on his feet, he sagged against Hannibal.
"Okay, kid. I gotcha." One arm over Hannibal's shoulders, Face staggered to the van and barely got into the front seat before passing out.
"Oh my God, John! Is Temp dying?" The Colonel hadn't heard Melody follow them until she spoke from behind him.
Sloppy, really sloppy. What if that had been Jack or his men?
"He'll be alright. Nothing a little rest and some tape around the ribs won't heal in time." He gave her an appraising gaze, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. She swayed on her feet as well and he knew it had taken effort to get herself over there.
She isn't fooling me one bit. She doesn't look any more steady than Face.
He gripped her arm and gently led her to the side door of the van. Lifting her up into the compartment, he helped her lie down on the floor and draped a blanket over her. He tucked a second one around Face in the front seat. "He'll heal faster if he has a pretty nursemaid to make him behave and stay in bed. And you would do good to rest for a while yourself."
"So you want me to distract him while you go and check on Murdock and B. A." She grimaced as she shifted position to look at him.
"That's the idea. You took quite a beating yourself when they ran you off the road. I wouldn't ask you to do it if I didn't know Face would find a way to get to the hospital under his own power once I left."
"I don't think I got anything more than a really bad headache and a bunch of bruises and cuts." She reached up with a shaking hand to touch the blood-matted portion of her hair. Seeing Hannibal's eyes on her, she let a smile flicker across her face. "Come on, John. You know head wounds always bleed a lot. A few stitches and I'll be fine."
Hannibal cast one more skeptical look at her.
Right. She's just as stubborn as Face. They make a good match.
Her gaze softened as her eyes swept what she could see of the blond Lieutenant, his head lolling against the head rest of the front seat. "I wish I had seen what Jack was before I started going out with him. You wouldn't all be in this mess if I had."
"Spilled milk, kid. Spilled milk. I have one more thing to do before we can take off. Excuse me while I get it done." Hannibal shut the door on her before she could say another word. Stalking toward the bound and gagged man on the ground, he knelt beside him and twined his fingers in the hair at the back of Scott's head. He jerked the kid's head back until he could see his eyes.
"I'm going to be more merciful than your boss or the rest of his men are. I'm not going to leave you to be found someday when someone has reason to wonder why this car has been parked here for so long." Letting Scott's head drop, he untied the gag and removed it from the younger man's mouth.
Scott swallowed a couple of times before saying anything. "You know Jack's gonna come after you. As soon as I tell him . . . "
"Shut up and listen, kid, or I'll stuff this back in your mouth." Hannibal waited for a second, then continued. "Right now, you're the only one the authorities will have in custody when they find my note and the diamonds in that sedan there. I mentioned you were involved with the heist. If I were you, I'd tell them all about Jack and hope they buy your story."
"And if I don't?" The Colonel could see the kid's eyes flicker with realization.
Hannibal grinned and stood, his hands on his hips, looking down at the would-be stalker. "Not my problem, pal. Now wait until you see the van out on the road before you yell as loud as you can for help. Maybe one of those firefighters will hear you."
With that, the Colonel sprinted to the van, climbed in and quickly backed around to face the road. He could hear Scott yelling already.
"Why didn' you leave him gagged, Hann'bal?" Hearing the commotion outside, Face roused and slurred his question.
"Because I want him to be found and not by Jack or his goons. If I'm right, Jack's about to get some unwanted attention from the cops."