Every Thought Captive

Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.

Chapter 74 Hannibal's Dilemma

"Jackson was sleeping like a baby out there. He wasn't the one that gave Murdock his nightmare." The Colonel made his way quickly to Face's side and scrutinized the unconscious pilot. He drew in a slow breath and let it out just as slowly. "He looks in pretty rough shape."

Not as bad as he was after the doctor got through with him but that's not saying much. We almost lost him before that.

Just thinking of how close his friend had come to dying made him want to let Cazador do what he wished with both Stafford and Jackson.

And good riddance. Murdock isn't that vengeful, though. He would want to see justice served the right way as much as I do. For all parties concerned in this matter.

"He's running a temperature, Hannibal. Here, I'll move. Take my place." Amy got up from her seat on the edge of the bed. She perched on the arm of the chair, took Face's hand in hers and squeezed it.

Noting the Captain's pallor and the sheen of sweat on his face, Hannibal rested the back of one hand across Murdock's forehead. Pulling his hand away, he sat in meditative silence for a few moments, staring at the man in the bed. A concerned frown creased his brow.

How was it I didn't see this before? It was that visit out to the shed to see Jackson. Pulling the IV out of his arm didn't help either, I bet. The doctor's going to have to put it back in. We have no choice. And that surgery will have to wait another day or two.

"Dammit!" he swore softly under his breath, then turned his attention to Face. "You obviously didn't have any problems getting him grounded again and back to sleep. Now what did he mean he would do it on his own and nobody was going to stop him?"

The reporter and the con man glanced at each other. Amy raised her eyebrows but Face shook his head very slightly. They stared at the Colonel with identical quizzical expressions on their faces.

Amy's learning too much from the Kid. They'd be great running a scam together. Well, they aren't slipping anything over on me. Not this time.

Hannibal set his jaw and let his eyes become like ice. When he spoke, his voice was a growl. "Okay. B. A. said he had to think about what Murdock said to him before he would tell me anything and now you two are giving me the run-around. Spill it, Lieutenant." It was his most authoritative tone and one that ensured Face would cooperate.

At least, I hope he does.

"He didn't give us all the details," Amy declared, gazing into the Colonel's eyes without flinching.

I didn't ask you, Miss Allen.

"Lieutenant?" Hannibal chose to ignore Amy's protest of innocence. He maintained eye-to-eye contact with the con man, realizing how good Face was at spinning a web of deceit and avoiding straight answers.

The con man fidgeted under the penetrating gaze and finally sighed. Running a hand through his hair and glancing apologetically at his feverish buddy, he confessed. "He doesn't want Cazador to end up in prison. He's willing to get up from the recovery room bed to fly Cazador and his family to freedom if it'll keep our arms smuggler host from being arrested."

Hannibal could tell there was more, likely something he would not like at all, but he wasn't going to press the issue.

"So he tried to get B. A. to agree to help him and when B. A. balked . . . " The Colonel's mind pushed ahead to the only possible conclusion. ". . . he tried to get you to help him instead. How sure were you that Murdock was actually having a nightmare?"

Can he fake a flashback? Then again, none of us are sure how much his mental problems are an elaborate act either.

"How sure were you?" Face crossed his arms defensively. "You came to get me. Remember? And look at him. Do you think he's putting on a show for you?"

Murdock groaned softly, shifting his head on the pillow. Pain creased his face as he twisted his bandaged throat the wrong way and the gauze caught at some of the stitches.

Both men directed their gazes at him. Narrowing his eyes, Hannibal reached toward the pilot's shoulder.

Amy pushed past Face to grab the Colonel's upper arm."Hannibal, no," she hissed. "I don't think he's faking now, even if he was before." When Hannibal frowned at her, she shook her head vigorously.

Her eyes and tone softened and she returned to her seat beside Face. "Have you ever known Murdock to misjudge a person's character and be so wrong, he endangered all of us? He must have seen something redeemable in Cazador. Something that we don't."

As if in response to her words, the pilot mumbled a plea that sounded like "Hann'bal . . . don' . . . " He bent one of his knees, angling his leg under the covers, and threw his right arm out to his side. He continued to mutter in his sleep, his muscles twitching slightly like he was fighting an invisible enemy.

Face's gaze was on his agitated friend as he murmured, "Isn't it more important to prevent Jackson and whoever he reports to from doing something like this ever again than to go after a small fish like Cazador? Think about it, Colonel." Face leaned closer so he could gently massage Murdock's left upper arm. "I'm here, buddy. I'm right here and I'm not leaving," he whispered.

Amy slipped from her seat on the arm of the chair and moved to Murdock's right side. Sitting on the bed, she glared defiantly into the Colonel's eyes. She scooped up the pilot's hand in hers and imitated Face's actions, stroking the skin between his knuckles and wrist. The Lieutenant smiled at her and nodded his approval as Murdock's frown began to slowly melt away.

Hannibal stood and let the younger man sit on the bed. He couldn't remain still now that he knew the Captain's secret plan to save Cazador from being arrested. Pacing back and forth at the end of the bed, he stopped abruptly and jabbed his finger in Face's direction.

"He's running weapons to God knows what country. Maybe one that's going to turn on the United States like a cornered rabid dog as soon as the fortunes of one side or the other changes. What he's doing is illegal. Think about it, Lieutenant." Hannibal pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to reason with the stubborn con man. He lowered his hand to watch the magic of Face's touch still the pilot's restless movements.

Just as stubborn as Murdock when he believes in something. Or when he's being loyal to a best friend's wishes.

He knew he was on the losing side of the argument when the younger man snorted. "Illegal like what we did to become fugitives from the military? That type of illegal? Or is there a difference?"

"There is a difference. We were following orders. He had a choice. He had to know the deal was shady from the beginning." Hannibal felt his blood pressure rising with the heated words. From the grim set to Face's expression, he knew the con man was going to see the argument through to its conclusion.

Face noticed a twitch of discomfort around Murdock's eyes and lowered his voice."Well, maybe we should have known robbing the bank of Hanoi was a shady deal, too. What I see is a man who trusted the government when they helped him supply arms to overseas rebels. Cazador had no way of knowing someone would want that agreement to be nullified with his own assassination. Murdock may not be wrong on this one, Hannibal. We trusted our government, too, and see where that got us."

Amy's eyes went from Face to Hannibal as the verbal sparring match continued.

"And what were Cazador's reasons for smuggling weapons he knew were Army-issued? I'm sure he didn't have relatives in that country he needed to help."

Face paused to think about it.

You can't argue that one, Kid.

Hannibal didn't rejoice in finding what he thought was the way to end the disagreement. In a way, he saw Cazador as a man very much like himself . . . except for the arms smuggling. He wasn't sure he could overlook that.

The Lieutenant finally spoke. "Do we know Cazador wasn't doing what someone told him was essential for national security? How often has our government changed the stakes in a revolution so one dictator is replaced with another more cooperative with United States foreign policy?"

"He profited from it."

"So does our government." Face showed every sign of backing Hannibal against the wall on this argument. Continuing to absent-mindedly massage Murdock's upper arm, the Lieutenant glared at his leader. Hannibal sat down at the foot of the bed and rubbed at his eyes. He suddenly felt very tired.

Several seconds of silence followed while both men waited for the other to speak. Murdock moaned again. His eyelids flickered and opened. He glanced at Hannibal and groaned, but not from pain.

Turning away and staring dully at Face, he rasped, "Ya didn' say nothin', did ya?" He tried to focus through glazed eyes and for a moment, Hannibal thought he would go back to sleep. The Colonel wondered why he hadn't noticed the twin flushed patches high on the pilot's cheeks before when he went to get the Lieutenant.

Murdock squinted at his friend, searching his expression for an answer. Face avoided the look by glancing at Amy and licking his lips in preparation to defend himself.

The pilot gasped out an indignant, "Ya did, didn' ya!" Pulling his arm away from the con man, Murdock turned to Amy.

"He said you were going to try to keep Cazador from being arrested by flying him and his entire family somewhere where the authorities couldn't find them for a while. That's all. Just what you told us. No more, no less." Amy's voice was steady as she kept eye contact with him.

For a second the pilot opened his mouth to say something, then clamped it shut again. After a few moments of peering at her serious face, he gave her a barely perceptible nod of satisfaction and squeezed her hand.

Murdock returned his gaze to Face. He offered the con man a weak smile and small shrug. Face didn't move but his eyes were sympathetic.

Some message was being conveyed among them. Hannibal was certain of that. What it was, he didn't know. Obviously, there was more to Murdock's plan than just leaving the hospital early and commandeering a plane with the Cazador family aboard.

Hannibal coughed to get the pilot's attention and stood.

"Face made a good argument for letting Cazador continue to walk around a free man. I have to think about it." The brown unfocused eyes tore at Hannibal's gut but he couldn't give any of them a guarantee. He had to talk to Cazador before he made his decision. He had to get a feeling for what the man was really like, to see what Murdock saw that brought him to want to defend the arms smuggler with his life if necessary. "But no promises. I'll speak with Cazador and then I'll decide what to do."

But first that IV has to go back in. Those antibiotics have to have a chance to do their work.

He hesitated before walking to the door. "Can you stay with him just a few more minutes while I get Doctor Willis?" He looked at the reporter and Lieutenant, avoiding Murdock's anguished expression.

"I can sleep here as well as in that bedroom." Face glanced at Amy and grinned. "And I have good company to watch over both of us. We'll take over for you."

Amy matched the con man's smile with one of her own. "I'm fine with that. I can make them both behave."

Face drew in a breath and chuckled, giving his girl a wink. "She does know how to do that." He patted Murdock's shoulder. "Doesn't she, buddy?"

The pilot flashed a thankful glance at Amy and Face before gingerly nodding his agreement.

The Colonel paused and looked at them more carefully. If they were planning something, leaving them alone with Murdock gave them the opportunity . . .

"No . . . no more IV . . . Hann'bal . . . " Murdock lifted his head, intent on sitting up. With a frustrated moan, he let it fall back on the pillows. Closing his eyes, he spoke again. "Guess I ain' goin' nowhere after all. Neck hurts somethin' awful . . . but . . . we gotta talk, Colonel. We gotta talk."

The feverish eyes held Hannibal at the door for a moment. "We will, Captain. As soon as you allow the doctor to give you the antibiotics and pain medication you need. Understood?"

Murdock swallowed with effort and nodded. "Understood."

The Colonel scanned Amy and Face before opening the door. "Make sure he doesn't give the doctor a difficult time."

"He won't," Amy reassured him.

After one more suspicious glance at the three, Hannibal left the room and softly closed the door.

oooooo

"Thanks, guys." Murdock swept a shaking hand across his forehead and swallowed again. He squinted at his hand, moist from the sweat on his face. "Don' want Hann'bal t' throw a wrench in th' plans."

Now that the Colonel left the room, Face's smile disappeared. "Hold on a minute, buddy. Just because Amy and I didn't tell him everything you told us doesn't mean we're going to automatically do everything you said. I avoid pain and bodily injury and if we sedate both Hannibal and B. A., I'm going to have both."

The pilot's mouth opened in dismay but before he could speak, Amy interrupted. "I think what Face means is we need to let Hannibal think about what he said and have that conversation with Cazador. We'll keep prodding him toward letting Cazador walk away. But he's going to want a surefire way of convicting Jackson and dealing with Stafford."

Murdock stared up at the ceiling, avoiding their anxious looks.

"If he lets me be th' first t' see Jackson after 'is surgery, that problem'll be taken care of. I jus' gotta talk t' Hann'bal . . . alone . . . b'fore I go under th' knife."

oooooo

Outside the door, Hannibal pursed his lips and frowned.

By straining to hear, he made out just enough of the conversation to know what was going on. Well, he knew all the tricks when it came to sedating someone against his will. He would be on his guard and not drink anything the two of them offered him. He'd watch his back so they didn't inject him.

But I will listen to what Murdock thinks he wants to do with Jackson. This should be interesting.