Chapter 2: Cat amongst the pigeons
Murdock sat rather nervously on the settee next to Face. He had been picked up from his apartment just after breakfast by one of the Ables and brought to the house in Langley for an impromptu meeting with General Stockwell. All the team were also present.
Hannibal, sitting directly opposite him, couldn't help observing how fatigued he looked. It hadn't gone unnoticed by the shrewd Colonel that Murdock had avoided coming to the house over the last week. Bearing in mind that Face was still recovering from his injuries, Hannibal had been surprised that the pilot had chosen to stay away from his buddy. Giving him a concerned glance, Hannibal could see a look of despondency in his Captain's eyes. Something wasn't quite right and Hannibal was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"I wonder what the old man wants?" enquired Frankie, breaking into Hannibal's thoughts. "Surely he's not gonna send us out on assignment with Face still only running on half gas?"
"Looks like we're about to find out," mumbled BA, nodding his head towards the opening door.
General Stockwell made his swift entrance into the room, accompanied by his personal assistant, Carla. Two of his Ables remained at the door. He sat down in a vacant armchair, whilst Carla stood behind him and addressed the team in his usual pompous manner.
"I have some news that will be of interest to you all," he said, his steely gaze only slightly obscured by his tinted glasses.
"I don't suppose this has got anything to do with us getting our pardons does it?" asked Hannibal, a sarcastic smirk on his face.
"In particular," continued Stockwell, choosing to ignore the Colonel's remark, "this will be something that will have great impact on Lieutenant Peck and ultimately the rest of the team."
The sarcastic smirk disappeared quickly from Hannibal's face and you could hear a pin drop as the team waited with bated breath to hear the impending news.
"One of my junior subordinates has been informed by a marshal of The Witness Protection Program, that Peck's mother, Samantha Bancroft, has been in their custody since early 1960," reported Stockwell. "She was placed on the Program for her own safety after it transpired that her life was in danger due to her connection with AJ Bancroft."
The stunned expression conveyed by Face and the rest of the team was surpassed only by the frenzied outburst by Murdock.
"No!" he shouted in alarm, jumping to his feet in protest. "That can't be right. It's gotta be a trap. Face's mom is … we don't know what … no, it's gotta be a trap!"
"Shut ya jibber-jabber, fool!" warned BA. "You ain't no authority on Face's momma!"
"But … but BA, you … you don't understand!" stammered Murdock. "It … it … it just don't make no sense, is all!"
"Well I can assure you, Captain, that the claim appears to be valid," confirmed Stockwell. "And what is more, she is insisting on seeing Lieutenant Peck."
Everyone stared at Face, who seemed totally dumbfounded by the news. Hannibal, on the other hand, was staring intently at Murdock, who looked like he'd been knocked for six by Stockwell's announcement.
"Why do you think it's a trap, Murdock?" he enquired cautiously, trying to calm down his extremely skittish Pilot.
Murdock's eyes widened in panic, as he attempted to rein in his emotions. As much as he wanted to relieve himself of the burden of his secret, this wasn't the time or place to be revealing sensitive information about Face's mom. Face deserved to hear about it first.
Plus now he was confused. Maybe a part of him desperately wanted to believe that Luciano was lying. If there was a remote chance Face's momma was alive, then Murdock wasn't going to dismiss it without further investigation. After all, he only had that scumbag Luciano's word on the matter.
"Well, why would she come forward now?" he finally said, trying to steer clear of spurting out the truth. "And if she was thinking about witness protection, why didn't she take Face with her? Why did she leave him at the orphanage?"
"No, wait a minute, Murdock," said Face excitedly, suddenly coming to life after his stunned silence. "There was no witness protection scheme as such back in the 50s."
"Peck is correct," verified Stockwell. "The Federal Witness Protection Program didn't come into force until 1961. Then in 1970 it became known as the Witness Security Program."
"Yeah, and I guess now that AJ is dead, there is no need for her to stay in hiding," enthused Face.
"Just seems a bit strange that she never tried to get in touch with you over the years," pondered Murdock.
"I'm afraid that would have been against the rules of the Program, Captain," said Stockwell. "She could have put herself and Peck in great peril if she had tried to make contact with him and probably been expelled from the Program."
"So what did she do before she joined the Program," persisted Murdock.
"I'm guessing she still took her chance with the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Agency," said General Stockwell. "But they would have been no match for the Mafia had they found out her location. Plus, if she had testified against Bancroft or his associates, she wouldn't have been offered the level of protection they do now."
"So what Luciano told me was the truth," gushed Face with pride. "My mom was trying to protect me. She sacrificed everything just so that the Mob wouldn't find me."
"How come you didn't know about this, Stockwell?" asked Hannibal, suspiciously.
"Witness Protection is not my usual jurisdiction," replied Stockwell, stiffly. "In fact, this puts my organisation in a very awkward situation. We don't need this sort of exposure. Plus you realise this could also jeopardise your position? If word gets out that I have the A-Team, there will be very little I can do to keep the military police - or the CID who are investigating your disappearance - out of the picture."
"You can't stop me from seeing her!" rebuked Face angrily.
"I think you will find I can," replied Stockwell, smugly. "But in this instance I think it will do more harm than good. Otherwise, I fear that this will just bring on another media circus surrounding the A-Team and AJ Bancroft."
"I think maybe Murdock has a good point, though," backtracked Hannibal. "How did this marshal know where to come looking for Face?"
"It's now public knowledge that the A-Team escaped from execution," said Stockwell. "I have done everything in my power to keep you hidden from the authorities. But everyone has their price when it comes to money, power and a chance to climb up the ranks. Of course, at the moment, my name has not been directly linked with the team and I would like to keep it that way. Any further communication will be through my junior subordinate, who also doesn't even realise my involvement with you."
"And you can trust this man?" questioned Hannibal.
"Like, I said, Colonel," reiterated Stockwell. "Everyone has a price when it comes to discretion. This is a chance we take if we let Samantha Bancroft see Lieutenant Peck. But rest assured, I will do everything in my power to protect my investment."
"So what you are saying is, I can see my momma, but it won't be long-term?" said Face, frowning in frustration.
"Only why you are still doing things my way," said Stockwell. "One would assume you wouldn't run out on your team before then, Lieutenant?"
Face lowered his head, slightly embarrassed by Stockwell's words. The thought of leaving the team had actually crossed his mind during their last mission. He was beginning to doubt that Stockwell would ever give them their pardons. But after a couple of unsuccessful attempts of breaking free, he had been unable to walk out on his buddies.
"Face understands there will be repercussions," said Hannibal, immediately trying to cover up the conman's humiliation. He hadn't blamed Face for wanted to get away from Stockwell. It was just Face's way of letting off steam. When it came to the crunch, he knew he could totally depend on his second-in-command. "We all do. But have you got any actual proof that this really is Samantha Bancroft?"
Stockwell turned towards Carla and nodded his head at her. She delved into the folder she was carrying and brought out a photograph. She held it out towards Face, who immediately jumped forward and took it from her. The rest of the guys got up and peered curiously over his shoulder.
The photograph was of a woman in about her mid-50s. Her short hair appeared to be dyed brown, as there were indications of blonde roots growing through. Face presumed she had probably dyed it and cut it to change her appearance. Apart from the obvious signs of aging, she still seemed to resemble that of the lady in the photo that Luciano had given Face. And even with dark hair, there was no mistaking the similarities between her and the Lieutenant.
But it was the very distinctive vintage floral necklace of baby-blue moonstones and sparkling rhinestones, that caught the Lieutenant's eye.
"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing the necklace. "It's the same one that mom is wearing in the photo Luciano gave me! It's got to be her. It's just gotta be! Hannibal, if there's a chance she's my momma, I've gotta find out."
"I know, kid," said Hannibal. "I'm not gonna stop you from finding out Face, if that's what you really want."
Stockwell let out an irritable sigh, instructing Carla to get things moving. He reluctantly gave the file he had on Samantha Bancroft to Face, not seeing any reason to keep the information from him. He then got up, nodding pertly at the team, indicating the end of the meeting.
As Face was jabbering on with great excitement to Frankie, Murdock and BA, Hannibal took the moment to catch Stockwell as he was leaving.
"You better make sure nothing bad happens to Face, Stockwell," said Hannibal, in a low but threatening voice. "And if I ever find out that you knew more about this than you are letting on, I'm gonna let BA finish off what he started when we found Face messed up by that greasy Italian meatball!"
The General couldn't help gulping as he straightened his tie. The memory of BA pinning him against the barn when they had realised he had set Face up by giving him a fake diary, was still very vivid in his mind.
"Like I said, Colonel," he managed to calmly reply, shaking off Hannibal's firm hold on his arm. "I am only interested in protecting my investment."
Hannibal backed off and the General and his party made their leave. Looking back at his team, he couldn't help feeling a little bit apprehensive. He was pleased that Face might get a chance to find out about his mom, but at the same time, something just didn't sit right.
And judging by the look on Murdock's face, he wasn't the only one who had his suspicions.
[AN: thank-you for all the reviews and interest in the story so far. Please do continue to read and review if you can find the time.]