FRIENDS

  Murdock walked beside the attendant with his head down, his thoughts a 
  million miles away. The closer they got to the bank of elevators, the 
  slower his steps became. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Tracey, it 
  was more that he had to prepare himself. Tracey, at the thought of her 
  name, a vision of her laughing face and green eyes that sparkled 
  whenever she was angry came into his mind. Tracey, with long chestnut 
  hair that he used to spend hours brushing, making it shine and glitter 
  like a fine gemstone. Tracey, who knew more about Murdock than anyone 
  alive, even the guys on the team. Tracey, who lay dying in the AIDS unit 
  of the VA hospital. He closed his eyes tight for a moment, tamping down 
  the anger he could feel building up whenever he acknowledged her 
  illness, and it's inevitable outcome. He felt a hand at his shoulder, 
  and saw the concerned look of Manny, the attendant. He shook it off and 
  explained he was fine and continued to the elevators. Manny nodded, but 
  they both knew he was far from fine. When they stepped off at her floor, 
  he shook himself off physically and mentally. As they approached the 
  unit, he shook his head one more time, mentally reminding himself that 
  it was now showtime. He smiled a cheery greeting to the nurses behind 
  the desk at the nursing station, asking after their families and other 
  little personal gossip before finally asking how Tracey was doing. The 
  smiles always faded then, and no matter who he asked, they'd just look 
  down, and shake their head from side to side. 

  Murdock entered her room softly, not wanting to wake her if she were 
  asleep. He looked at her and swallowed the lump in his throat, biting 
  his tongue to force back the tears that threatened . Somehow she sensed 
  his presence and opened her eyes. Immediately she smiled and tried to 
  sit up. Murdock hurried to her side, putting his arm around her, 
  adjusting her pillows and using the remote control to change the 
  position of the bed. 

  "Hey sweetheart, how are you? I brought Manny to say hello." Murdock 
  bent over her and kissed her lightly on the forehead, holding her hand 
  and squeezing it gently. Manny kidded around with her a little, telling 
  her the Psych Unit had never been the same since she transferred out. 
  She smiled, but didn't say anything. Then Manny left, telling Murdock to 
  take his time, he would wait for him at the Nursing Station. 



  Murdock looked her over closely noting the changes in her body and 
  knowing she couldn't take much more. Already her emaciated appearance 
  made her bones protrude. Death was closer than ever before. She was 
  covered in a fine film of sweat, her hair was long gone and even her 
  scalp was shiny with sweat. She must have followed his eye movements 
  because she looked up at a black baseball cap he'd given her and nodded. 
  He fetched it and gently placed it on her head. She smiled, but no 
  matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the tears. Murdock's heart 
  was breaking. He put his arms around her and gathered her close to his 
  chest and just rocked her. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and 
  laid down beside her on the bed, holding her close to him, and kissing 
  her nose, her eyelids, and finally her lips. 

  "Don't! Don't do that, please. I couldn't stand it if you got sick." she 
  implored him, fear in her eyes. 

  Murdock smiled down at her," Kissing you like that will never make me 
  sick, so hush. You know that, we discussed this with the doctors," 
  Murdock reassured her. 

  "I know, but I don't trust them." she looked into the pilot's dark brown 
  eyes and saw the no trespassing sign. Sometimes they were so open, she 
  could see into the bottom of his soul. Other times, like now, he 
  wouldn't let anyone see anything. She sighed as she realized why. She 
  was dying, and Murdock was the only friend she had, the only person who 
  would miss her and grieve for her. He wouldn't want her to see his pain. 
  She might not be able to see it, but she could feel it, and it's 
  enormity overwhelmed her. She started to cry and couldn't stop. He held 
  her close, but never tried to stop her crying. She remembered him 
  telling her once that she should cry more often, because it was God's 
  way of washing away the pain and scars life had a way of leaving on you. 


  The nurse came in to change the IV solution, and feigned shock at 
  discovering Murdock beside her on the bed. She made all manner of wild 
  and ridiculous threats as Murdock slowly removed himself from the bed to 
  a chair as he and the nurse secretly enjoyed the faint smile that 
  appeared on Tracey's face. After the nurse left, he filled her in on the 
  latest gossip from the unit. Imitating various patients that Tracey 
  knew, and exaggerating them slightly. Finally, he could see how much his 
  visit had exhausted her, and announced it was time to leave. This time 
  when he looked deep into her eyes. he could see death was even closer. 
  He kissed the top of her forehead again, and held her tight, looking 
  over the top of the baseball cap, blinking back tears, not saying 
  anything, afraid to speak. 

  Her voice seemed to come from far away, faint and husky from lack of 
  use, "This may be the last time we see each other. Promise me you'll 
  tell your friends. " Just those few words and she was breathless. 

  "I can't." 

  "Murdock, you have to. Please, promise me! " 

  "Please, no. I can't." 

  She closed her eyes for a moment and he thought perhaps she'd given up. 
  He was wrong. She was just regrouping. A moment later she opened her 
  eyes and reached out a trembling hand for him . With her last bit of 
  strength she said " For me, please. Promise me?" 

  Put like that, how could he refuse? He answered, with a catch in his 
  voice, "All right. I promise." 

  She relaxed then, and he let her head down gently on the pillow. He 
  readjusted the bed to the original position, and adjusted the sheets 
  until finally there was nothing left to do but look in her eyes. She 
  reached out her hand to him and he grasped it readily. 

  "It's okay, hon. I'm ready. " she closed her eyes again for a moment and 
  then opened them and continued, "I'm tired and I'm ready. Hell, it can't 
  possibly be any worse than life." They both kind of half smiled at that. 
  Murdock took the trembling hand he was holding and brought it to his 
  lips and kissed it. Tears slid shamelessly down his cheeks. Somehow he 
  knew this would be the last time they talked, and knowing that was 
  killing him inside. 'How do you say goodbye ?' he wondered. 

  She looked up at him again and seemed to sense his quandry. " I'm going 
  to go to sleep now." She announced softly. She started to turn her head 
  away from him just as a spasm of pain hit her. Taking a deep breath, she 
  didn't open her eyes right away, but when she did, Murdock was still 
  there. She asked in a pitiful sad voice, weak and tinged with pain, 
  almost a whisper, "Wish me safe journey?" Murdock mentally braced 
  himself, not sure he could do this, then told her in a shaky voice, 
  "Safe journey, kid." Her body seemed to relax and she lost consciousness. 
  Murdock stood for a moment, staring at her face, listening to her 
  labored breathing, knowing this could be the last time he saw her, then 
  turned and quickly left the room. He walked fast heading straight for 
  the elevators knowing Manny would follow and understand. Murdock wrapped 
  his arms around himself, but let the steady stream of tears fall. Manny 
  tried to put his arm around him once, but Murdock knocked it away and 
  just glared at him. Manny stepped back, giving him space. He went 
  straight to his room, insisting Manny lock it. Murdock lived on a locked 
  ward. In the day time when there was an abundance of staff, it wasn't 
  necessary to lock his room, but it wasn't so much being locked in as 
  much as he wanted everyone else locked out. He went to stand at 
  the window and just stood there staring out at nothing, waiting. In the 
  late afternoon, he heard the key in the door and turned anxiously. It 
  was Dr. Richter. Murdock stared at him for a moment, then turned back to 
  the window. 

  "Murdock, Nurse Patterson just called me." 

  Murdock pivoted around immediately, fear in his eyes. 

  Dr. Richter stood there for a moment studying the pilot before he 
  continued, "I'm sorry. She's slipped into a coma. She's very weak. Her 
  heart is erratic. They doubt she'll last the night." 

  Murdock didn't answer for a long while, then unable to hide his remorse 
  replied in defeated tones, "I know. I saw her today. She said she was 
  ready." He sighed heavily, there was so much else he wanted to say but 
  he couldn't. No matter how many times he tried, he just couldn't. No one 
  understood about Tracy and him. Not even Richter. No one knew, no one. 
  He looked up as he realized Richter had been asking him a question. " 
  Sorry, I didn't catch that." 

  "I said Tracey is ready to die, but are you ready to let her go?" 

  Murdock shook his head no, and then said slowly in a quivering voice "I 
  know how much she's suffered, and I understand she's tired of fighting a 
  battle she can't win, but I will never be ready to let her go. Never!" 

  They talked a few minutes more about less emotional topics. At one point 
  Richter started walking over to Murdock, but Murdock lifted his head and 
  the look in his eyes said "Back off!" Richter did and left soon after. 
  Murdock wrapped his arms around himself again, continuing to stand by 
  the window, waiting as dusk fell. Inside he felt cold, and thought maybe 
  he would never be warm again. 

  She died that night and was buried without fanfare two days later. 
  Murdock hadn't spoken out loud since he was told of her passing. He 
  attended a small wake, one that he had paid for and arranged beforehand. 
  He attended the funeral. He did not speak and he did not cry. 

  Dr. Richter was beside himself with concern. He had cared for Murdock a 
  long time and never seen him so grief-stricken. He refused to eat, talk, 
  or maintain his personal hygiene. Not surprisingly, he wasn't sleeping. 
  He refused to let anyone touch him. The psychiatrist tried pumping him 
  up with antidepressants, but they take at least three weeks to build up 
  in the bloodstream before they have any effect. At the rate he was 
  withdrawing, it was obvious Murdock didn't have three weeks. He needed 
  help, and he needed it now. For the hundredth time, Dr.Richter wished he 
  knew how to get in touch with Murdock's friends, the A Team. 



  Hannibal and B.A. were sitting on the deck of Face's favorite beach 
  house, eating pizza. Face was leaning on the railings looking out to 
  sea. Suddenly he turned and asked "Has anyone heard from Murdock?" 

  Hannibal shook his head and B.A. just growled. It would have been 
  surprising if they had, Murdock usually only called Face. 

  "He hasn't called me this week, he usually does. You know, he leaves me 
  silly little messages, Billy needs a new collar, Thunder needs more 
  sugar cubes, can I take him shopping at K Mart for new sneakers, that 
  sort of thing. This week he hasn't left one message. I'm worried. The 
  last few weeks, I've known something's been bothering him, but he 
  wouldn't talk about it." 

  Hannibal looked at B.A. Face and Murdock were very, very close, and very 
  tuned into each other. If Face thought there was a problem, Hannibal was 
  willing to wager there was. "Call him, Face. Now." he ordered. 

  Face looked relieved that no one thought he was being stupid and happily 
  dialed Murdock's number. He sat down abruptly when he got the recording 
  the number was temporarily disconnected. Immediately, he called back the 
  V.A. and said he was a friend trying to reach H.M. Murdock. The nurse 
  informed him that Murdock was not doing too well, had lost a close 
  friend and stopped talking all together. He had also thrown his phone 
  away, and insisted the phone wires be removed. The nurse suggested Face 
  check back in a week or so and see how he was doing then. Face had 
  turned chalk white during the conversation, increasing Hannibal's 
  concern. 

  "Something's wrong, Hannibal. I have to see him right away. He's not 
  talking and not eating. Some friend of his died? Who? I didn't think 
  there was anyone there that he was really close to. I knew something was 
  wrong. Damn it, I should have called before." 

  Face grabbed his keys to the vette when Hannibal said " Wait! We'll all 
  go together. You never know, it might be a trap." 

  Face shook his head 'no'. He knew something was wrong. He should have 
  called sooner. Nevertheless, Hannibal insisted they all go together. 
  Hannibal and B.A. would wait outside. 

  Face entered the V.A. facility at Westwood armed with transfer papers 
  dealing with a special grief therapy program. The nurse looked so 
  relieved when she heard his spiel that Face became even more concerned.. 
  After asking several questions and a brief conversation regarding the 
  pilot, she took him to the solarium. Murdock was sitting on the floor 
  beneath some sort of tropical tree. He had his hat on and his jacket and 
  by his side was a little overnight bag. He was unshaved, his hair 
  uncombed, his general appearance was unkempt, and he reeked from not 
  bathing. The nurse called his name several times without a response. 
  Finally, Face knelt down in front of him, humming a lullaby he used to 
  sing to him in the prison camp after interrogation. He folded Murdock 
  into his arms, half whispering the soothing words into his ear. Slowly 
  Murdock wrapped his arms around Face and held on. Face rocked him gently 
  and continued crooning softly the old Lullaby Hannibal had taught him. 
  Slowly Murdock lifted his head, recognition dawning. He touched the 
  cheeks of the lieutenant, as tears fell from his eyes, "Face" he said, 
  "You came, you knew?" 

  Face looked down at his friend lovingly as a smile tugged at his face, 
  "Of course I knew." 

  The nurse watched astonished, "What a remarkable program!" 

  "Yes, it's amazing what the right touch can do." Face commented as he 
  helped Murdock to his feet. We'll have him back to you in no time." 'I 
  hope' prayed Face. 

  Murdock clung to Face the way a frightened child clings to his mother. 
  Face signed the appropriate papers and before long, they were stepping 
  into the van. Hannibal turned around with a greeting that just about 
  died on his lips. Murdock looked like hell. Face didn't look much 
  better. Hannibal motioned for B.A. to drive and turned back in his seat. 
  They arrived at the beach house and as he left the van, each of his 
  friends hugged Murdock and expressed their sorrow for his loss. He 
  accepted their condolences but still clung tightly to Face. Face took 
  him right to the master bedroom, closed the door, and just hugged the 
  pilot. Murdock collapsed against his shoulder and started to sob. No 
  matter what Face said, his friend was inconsolable. Finally, he guided 
  him over to the bed, and between sobs, managed to remove his flight 
  jacket, and lay him down. He laid down next to him then and just held 
  him, letting him know he was there for him, and would help him any way 
  he could. He started crooning the old lullaby again and soon Murdock 
  fell asleep. Careful not to disturb him, Face joined his friends in the 
  other room. 

  "How is he?" asked Hannibal. 

  Face sat down and let out a long sigh. "He's in real bad shape, almost 
  like the prison camp. I don't understand. Who was this chick?" 

  "Well, you must have checked on her. What did you find out? "Hannibal 
  asked. 

  "Not much. Tracey Dylan, female, age 27, died of Aids eight days ago. 
  "Face heard the startled exclamations of the other two but continued. " 
  She had been an 'in' patient on the Psych ward off and on for several 
  years. She and Murdock were lovers, at least according to the staff I 
  spoke to. I, uh, I asked about Murdock, maybe I shouldn't have, but they 
  said he's clean, so far. 

  Hannibal let out a sigh of relief. "All right. Whatever it is, we can 
  handle it. We have pulled him through rough patches before, we can do it 
  again. From now on, he's never alone. Face, are you sure he never 
  mentioned a girl to you?" 

  "I swear, Hannibal. He did mention he had a friend dying of Aids, but 
  well, I just assumed it was a guy." 

  Hannibal looked at Face, annoyed that he had allowed himself to assume 
  anything and started to say something to that effect when he remembered 
  Face was hurting too. No one was closer to Murdock. Hannibal often 
  wondered how to describe their closeness. It wasn't sexual, but it 
  wasn't asexual either. Sometimes they seemed like best friends, 
  sometimes like brothers, sometimes like a lovers, and sometimes like 
  mother and child, with each taking turns playing the maternal role. He 
  wondered if they were even aware of the sexual aspect of their 
  relationship. Hannibal had seen undertones of passion, but doubted they 
  had ever gone any further than an intimate caress. 

  Face returned to the bedroom and laid down beside his friend. Murdock 
  seemed to sense his presence , curling into Face's side. Face smiled and 
  wrapped an arm around him in a comforting way, letting him know he was 
  not alone, and falling asleep himself. Hannibal checked on them and 
  couldn't help thinking they looked like two little boys. He called B.A. 
  over and let him look. B.A. looked and just smiled. "Anyone who doesn't 
  know them would think they're two little angels. We're the only ones 
  that really know them, right Hannibal?" 

  Hannibal nodded. Shortly after, B.A. went outside to do maintenance work 
  on the van. 



  Two hours went by before Murdock finally stirred. He opened his eyes and 
  remembered where he was and why. The pain of his loss hit him again, his 
  heart literally ached. He closed his eyes momentarily, and opened them 
  to see Face looking down at him, gently stroking his hair. It was a 
  comforting gesture that Murdock appreciated. They laid there together in 
  companionable silence, no need for words. After a while, Face stood up, 
  then grabbed his pillow and without any warning smacked Murdock with it, 
  then leaped on top of him, tickling him like mad, yelling , "tickle 
  monster!" Although half hearted at first, Murdock was soon beating Face 
  with his pillow so hard, the feathers were starting to fly. In between 
  the pillow attack, he was tickling Face in all his secret places, like 
  the bottom of his feet and the small of his back and just below his arm 
  pits. It didn't take long for Hannibal to come rushing to the doorway on 
  hearing the excited pleas of "No, No more, Please, etc." only to find 
  the room full of feathers, and the two grown men prostrate with 
  laughter. Hannibal smiled, relieved to see the smile on the captain's 
  face. 

  "I hate to put a damper on your fun guys, but it's B.A.'s turn to cook 
  tonight." drawled Hannibal. 

  The two men looked up at the colonel in unison and groaned together 
  "B.A.?!" 

  B.A. was notorious for his lack of skill in the culinary department. Face 
  who was laying on his back, looked over at Hannibal and said, "I can 
  remember what you said the first time he made us a meal, 'don't worry 
  guys, he'll get better with practice. ' Well he's had fifteen years of 
  practice, Hannibal. When's he going to get better?" 

  B.A. poked his head around the corner and glared at Face, "You got 
  something to say about my cooking?" he demanded. 

  Face blanched. He swallowed a lump in his throat and hastily denied that 
  he had anything to say about B.A 's cooking. 

  "B.A." Murdock whined, "Oh, B.A., please, couldn't we send out for 
  Captain Bellybuster's tonight? Please, please, please?" He turned his 
  most soulful look on B.A., whose ferocious glare slowly melted into a 
  big grin. 

  "Okay" he conceded, unable to say no to his friend.. 

  "Captain. How about you and I take a walk while Face and B.A. get 
  dinner?" asked Hannibal. 

  The captain, who laid sprawled beside Face, just nodded, his face all 
  serious now. Face jumped up and grabbed a towel from the adjoining 
  bath, and flung it in Murdock's face. "Here. Take a shower first." 
  Murdock just grinned, caught the towel and walked into the bathroom, 
  momentarily escaping the colonel. It had been several days since he had 
  showered and he knew he smelled rank. He stripped quickly and stepped 
  under the running hot water. There was a jazz station on somewhere 
  that's music was being piped through to every room in the house. It felt 
  good to stand under the hot water as the soapy lather rinsed away. He 
  thought about his three friends and how lucky he was to have them, how 
  they never said a word about his appearance and his unshaved face. They 
  just let him know they loved him and they were there for him if he 
  needed them. When he stepped out of the shower, he looked into the 
  mirror at his reflection as clouds of steam swirled around him. He 
  couldn't help thinking as he watched a wispy curl of steam, that's what 
  life was like. Now you see it, now you don't. A vision of Tracy, healthy 
  and unravaged came to mind then drifted away just as it was coming into 
  focus. Murdock shook his head and concentrated on shaving. He joined 
  Hannibal on the deck a short while later. 

  Hannibal eyed him up and down, taking in everything, " Feel better?" he 
  questioned. 

  "Yeah" the pilot admitted sheepishly. 

  "Good. Let's go." Hannibal replied and they started down the stairs to 
  the beach. They slipped their respective footwear off at the bottom of 
  the stairs and started walking barefoot through the sand. Neither man 
  spoke as the gritty sand scrunched up between their toes . They walked 
  together for a good half hour when they finally came upon some big old 
  rocks. They turned to look at each other and silently agreed. Then they 
  started climbing up the rough and sometimes slippery surface. The found 
  a comfortable spot to sit and watch the sun go down over the water. 
  Neither man spoke , but the silence was comfortable. 

  Finally, Murdock said "Her name was Tracey." 

  Hannibal looked away and asked" How did you meet?" 

  Murdock replied, "uh, we, we. I, uh, we, ..." Murdock sighed. He knew it 
  would be hard, but he hadn't expected it to be this hard. Then Hannibal 
  lit a cigarette in the dark, the match momentarily lighting up his face. 
  Once lit, he handed it to Murdock. The pilot looked at it with secret 
  longing, but shook his head no. 

  "Take it. Face bought them for you, said you would need them." Hannibal 
  lied as he handed the lit cigarette and the rest of the pack to the 
  amazed pilot. 

  "But he told me after I quit..." 

  "Murdock, I don't think he wants you to take up smoking again, but he 
  knew you'd need something to help you talk." 

  Murdock inhaled deeply on the cigarette, enjoying the mild buzz he got 
  from not having smoked in so long. He exhaled through his nostrils and 
  felt a momentary sensation of power. 

  "So how did you meet?" Hannibal tried again. 

  "uh, well, actually I'd seen her around, but we kind of moved in 
  different circles. She had childhood schizophrenia, that stabilized when 
  she got through adolescence. Every once in a while she'd stop taking her 
  medication, and she'd be looney toons big time. Pretty little thing, 
  long brown hair, but she had a mouth like a sewer, and was forever 
  getting into fights. I remember one time she took on Old Henry, just 
  'cos he didn't say excuse me when he bumped into her friend. Old Henry, 
  he liked to pull out sinks from the wall when he got going, and Tracey, 
  she liked to swing off the ceiling, literally. It's too bad, her friends 
  were only real to her. She had some neat friends , Hannibal." 

  "So, Captain. How did you actually meet?" Hannibal asked again, then 
  waited as the silence stretched out. 

  "She walked into the wrong place at the wrong time." The pilot lifted 
  the cigarette to his lips with a trembling hand. "There was a staff 
  person there that I didn't get along with. All that night he busted my 
  chops. Finally, I just said 'fuck it. What are they gonna do to me ? Put 
  me in a jacket?' and I went after the son of a bitch." Murdock paused to 
  take another deep drag on the cigarette. Slowly he exhaled and 
  continued. "They put me in a jacket all right, but that's not all they 
  did. There were two of them, and they dragged me into the library, bent 
  me over the table, and well, you know the rest." 

  Hannibal spit out a violent expletive. "Why didn't you say something?! 
  I'm sorry. I've never even thought of something like that happening to 
  you." Hannibal exclaimed and Murdock thought he sounded really appalled. 


  "It happens, Hannibal. It wasn't the first time and it probably won't be 
  the last. Predators go where the game is. What better game than someone 
  who can bitch and moan, and no one will believe him because he's crazy?" 
  Murdock stubbed the cigarette out against the rock. "Anyway" he 
  continued, "Tracey decides to visit the library after hours. She started 
  yelling, throwing books at them, running up and down the hallway 
  screaming. " Murdock didn't say anything else for a while as he 
  remembered. 

  "What did they do to her?" Hannibal asked. 

  Murdock lit a cigarette, and turned his face away from his friend. "They 
  beat the shit out of her. When it was finally over, and they were 
  through with the two of us, they wrote up a report that said they found 
  us together in the library, and that I had beaten her." Murdock sighed 
  as he remembered how defeated he had felt, knowing the real culprits 
  were right there, waiting to strike again. The anger that he had felt 
  then, the injustice of it, the horror of seeing Tracey's battered 
  features, all of it flashed thru his mind, and for one long minute, he 
  felt all the frustration again. Then Hannibal suddenly put his arm 
  around Murdock, and drew him closer. 

  "Why didn't you say something?" 

  "What could I say? I couldn't Hannibal. I couldn't take that chance. 
  Even Richter didn't believe me. It set me and him back a long ways, I 
  don't mind telling you. After a while you start thinking, maybe I did do 
  it. Sometimes you guys are my last hope. If for some reason you guys 
  didn't believe me, I really would have gone round the bend." 

  "Yeah, I can understand that. Look, there's B.A.'s headlights. Ready to 
  head back?" the colonel asked. 

  "You bet. All this ocean air has given me an appetite. I feel like I 
  haven't eaten for days." 

  Hannibal turned around to face the pilot as he was scrambling down from 
  the rock, "Murdock, you haven't eaten in days." 

  "Right. I forgot. Sorry." Murdock jumped the few remaining feet and the 
  two men started to jog back to the house. 

  It was a warm night, with a cool breeze off the water. Amber lights lit 
  up the corners of the deck while soft light from the doorway flooded the 
  table and chairs where everyone sat. Murdock sat next to Face, across 
  from B.A. and Hannibal. Scared someone would ask him a question he 
  didn't want to answer, he talked non stop about meaningless, inane 
  subjects. He started on a round of 'did you know' trivia, when Face 
  wrapped his arm around his shoulders and said, "Relax. Enjoy your food. 
  No one is going to ask you anything." Murdock looked down at his 
  cheeseburger, feeling guilty. Then the colonel joined in, "He's right. 
  Tomorrow is another day." Murdock looked over at Hannibal with silent 
  thanks, then bit into his cheeseburger. The rest of the night passed 
  quickly and soon Murdock was climbing into bed alongside Face. 

  "Remember, the headset is on the dresser, along with the walkman. If you 
  can't sleep, use them, but please let the rest of us catch a few hours 
  rest? Okay?" 

  "Roger, dodger, Facial One." Murdock acknowledged his friends 
  instructions. "Say, are you gonna jog with me in the morning?" the pilot 
  asked enthusiastically,
Face lifted his head and turned to look at Murdock, "Get real! Don't 
  even think of waking me. You hear me? I swear Murdock, if you try" 

  Murdock abruptly interrupted, "okay, okay, I get the message. You need 
  your beauty sleep. Don't worry, Face." 

  A muffled 'good' came from the other side of the bed. Murdock tried 
  sleeping, but he kept thinking of Tracey and the promise he had made 
  her. Finally, he stood and walked over to the window, staring out at the 
  stars, listening to the waves break on shore. He closed his eyes in 
  resignation. Nothing could make it easier, he just had to do it. He 
  pulled on his khaki pants and was stepping into his sneakers when Face 
  asked "Where you going?" 

  Murdock groaned. He'd been so careful not to waken Face, he was the last 
  person he wanted asking questions. "No where." he whispered. "I'm just 
  gonna go talk to Hannibal." 

  "Want to talk to me? I think Hannibal's asleep." 

  "Maybe later. I-I just want a little fresh air now. Go back to sleep, 
  Face." and the captain slipped quietly out of the bedroom. There was a 
  nightlight on in the kitchen, but the other lights were all out, and 
  Murdock could make out the sounds of B.A. snoring. He moved quietly to 
  the deck, opening the sliding glass door and closing it with barely a 
  sound. He walked over to the railing facing the water and looked out 
  into the inky darkness. He grasped the top rail and stared up at the 
  stars. He felt lost and alone. The promise he had made Tracey haunted 
  him. Then he spoke, "Tracey, I don't think I can do this. I know I 
  promised I would tell my friends, but I-I . . ." 

  "Tell us what, Captain?" asked Hannibal who was sitting in the corner of 
  the deck. 

  "Hannibal!!" Murdock squealed. "I didn't know you were there." 

  "Obviously. Now what did you promise Tracey to tell us?" 

  Murdock looked away, "Oh, man. I guess there's no way out of it now. Oh, 
  Hannibal." 

  "It can't be that bad Murdock." Hannibal said gently, then continued in 
  an inviting tone, "Come on and sit down on my couch." Hannibal smiled as 
  he gestured to the chaise lounge that was positioned next to his chair. 
  Murdock didn't say anything, but he walked slowly over to the corner 
  where Hannibal was. He stood over him for a minute trying to think of a 
  good excuse. "Maybe in the morning," was as far as he got. 

  Hannibal stood up, pressed his hands down on both of the captain's 
  shoulders, and forced the captain to sit, and said "Maybe now." 

  "Okay." Murdock agreed, recognizing the no nonsense voice of his 
  commander. 'How do I begin?' he wondered to himself. It all seemed so 
  long ago. He laid back in the chaise, putting his feet up, and 
  remembering when it all began. He looked over at Hannibal and sighed 
  again. 

  "Captain?" Hannibal prompted. 

  "Yeah. Hannibal, uh, did you ever wonder how Face gets me in and out of 
  the V.A. so easy? 

  "What do you mean Murdock?' 

  "I mean no matter how many times I leave, they never change the security 
  for me. They never move my room to a higher floor. Everything just stays 
  the same. Didn't you ever wonder why?" Murdock asked. 

  "No. I guess I just thought it really didn't matter. You're not a threat 
  to anyone, you're not considered dangerous, you always come back. Why 
  should they make a big deal over it?" 

  "Trust me, Hannibal. Escaped mental patients, they get high priority, 
  dangerous or not. As many times as I've left, they should have me in a 
  steel cage up near the roof, with a personal security guard." 

  "What are you saying then, Murdock, that they let you go?" 

  "Exactly." 

  "Why would they do that?" 

  "Maybe somebody asked them to. Maybe somebody told them to." 

  "Somebody like who, Captain?" asked Hannibal, leaning forward. 

  Murdock's voice grew softer as he practically whispered "Like the 
  Company." Neither man said anything for a moment as Murdock let the 
  ramifications of what he said sink in. Hannibal sat back in his chair 
  and lit a cigar. 

  Finally, the colonel asked the question Murdock had been dreading, " But 
  why would they do that unless you were working for them?" 

  Murdock swallowed nervously, and answered "Exactly." 

  "What?!" Hannibal exclaimed. "You still work for the Company?" 

  "Yeah. Sometimes. I help them out and in return they agree to leave you 
  be. They never really wanted much. Sometimes just advise on which 
  landing zone to choose and why, or sometimes identifying old contacts 
  from Cambodia. Once in a while I do some easy domestic courier stuff. My 
  contact was someone I had worked with before, a guy by the name of 
  Kennedy. Then about a year ago, I started hearing from someone else, 
  some dude named Gibbs. He had the passwords and everything, but he was a 
  lot harder to deal with. He wanted me to do different stuff. I refused. 
  Right after I refused, Tracey was raped and I got a message saying there 
  were worse things than rape and I should cooperate. At the time, I 
  thought the message was a coincidence. That they had learned of the rape 
  and how upset I was and decided to use it against me. You know how 
  sneaky and double dealing these guys are. When we found out that she was 
  HIV positive, with an especially virulent form of the disease, I 
  wondered again if it could be them, but I decided I was just getting 
  paranoid. The last time I heard from them was a little over 2 months 
  ago. Gibbs came to see me in the hospital. He said they had a little 
  courier run for me to do, but it looked more like a drug run to me. I 
  tried to turn it down, and they started showing me surveillance photos of 
  you guys. Gibbs told me that they had guys begging for wet work. I did 
  the run. I was right, it was cocaine and marijuana. 

  Now, last week, another guy comes by and says the contact that I'd been 
  working with, Gibbs, is a renegade. He wants me to take a wet work 
  assignment on him. He wants the team to work with me. I told him no. 
  This guy's name was Wells. He said he'd be back in touch with me. So far 
  I haven't heard anything." 

  Hannibal didn't say anything for a while. Finally, he asked the pilot, 
  "What's your gut instinct on Gibbs? Do you think he could be a renegade? 
  What about Wells? What did you think of him?" 

  "It's hard to tell, Hannibal. They don't pick normal guys to be in the 
  C.I.A. Gibbs was definitely not normal. He enjoyed watching me squirm. 
  He always brought me pictures of Face in the middle of sex, so I would 
  understand how easy it would be for them. If he was working outside the 
  company, just using insider contacts and passwords, I can't imagine 
  keeping it up for a year. They have too many security safeguards for an 
  outsider to last that long." 

  "What if he was working from the inside?" asked Hannibal. 

  "Granted I'm outside of the loop, so he could probably get past me, but 
  to operate day-to-day, I can't see it." 

  "Murdock, what if he only used relatively inactive agents. Wouldn't he 
  have himself an invisible army?" 

  "Well, yeah, but what about money, and . . ." Murdock's voice tailed off 
  as he realized just how easy it could be accomplished. "A couple of drug 
  runs, and he has payroll for the year. he'd probably run guns too. 
  Hannibal, this is awful. What if it's true? I don't know who to 
  believe?" 

  "Well, why don't we let Face do some checking for us tomorrow. I 
  understand he has a new hacker friend, who for the right price will hack 
  in anywhere." 

  "Leave it to the Face Kid." 

  There was a comfortable silence between the two men, as Hannibal puffed 
  on his cigar, and Murdock looked at the stars. After a while Murdock 
  stood up and said" I think I'll try turning in again." 

Hannibal stood up and faced him. He placed both hands on his shoulder 
  and looked him right in the eye. "Captain, there isn't anything that you 
  can't tell me, understand? I don't want you to ever have to carry 
  something like this around again. I know your reasons were noble, but 
  you have to trust in us. Our strength is our unity. If I had known five 
  years ago, the company was giving you flack, we could have taken care of 
  it then. I know how dangerous they can be, but don't underestimate 
  us, Captain. We can be pretty dangerous too." 

  "I'm sorry, Hannibal. I'm just always so afraid something will happen to 
  you guys, I'm sorry." 

  Hannibal smiled and said gently, "It's all right, Captain. Go to bed now. 
  Face is probably waiting up for you." 

  "Okay." and Murdock left the colonel alone to ponder everything he had 
  told him. 



  The next day, Face woke up with Murdock sprawled all over him. 
  Inexplicably happy, Face gently disengaged himself from Murdock's long 
  limbs. Being with Murdock always left him happy, Face never bothered 
  wondering why. That just wasn't his style. He knew that their 
  relationship was very simplistic. They never, ever lied to each other. 
  They loved each other, in a much more personal way than they loved the 
  other guys on the team. While he would willingly give up his life for 
  anyone on the team, Face knew he'd gladly die a thousand times over if 
  it would save Murdock's life. There was a childlike innocence about the 
  pilot that Face had rarely encountered. An enthusiasm for the silliest 
  things, it couldn't help but bring a smile to his face. Murdock. What a 
  complicated guy. Like a diamond with countless facets. Everytime you 
  look at him, you see something different. Face sighed as he wondered 
  what was troubling his friend. Maybe Hannibal would enlighten him. 
  Perked up by the thought, Face slid out of bed careful not to disturb 
  the slumbering pilot. 

  Face padded into the kitchen, following the smell of coffee. Hannibal 
  wasn't around as Face poured his coffee and thought about breakfast . 
  When the colonel strode into the room, Face felt a chill run down his 
  spine. Something was wrong, very wrong. Hannibal had the look of battle 
  in his eyes. Face had seen it before, especially in Nam. There was a 
  strict, military, no nonsense attitude. 

  "Good. You're finally up. Get B.A." was Hannibal's only greeting. Face, 
  now completely alert, noting Hannibal's shoulder holster, immediately 
  went to get B.A. 

  They met in the living room. Hannibal gave B.A. the sign to sweep for 
  bugs. He found several inside, but none on the deck. Hannibal was 
  enraged with himself for being so careless, so comfortable. After 
  clearing away the bugs, he explained the problem with the C.I.A. 

  "Aw, Hannibal, not the Company. We're not going up against the Company, 
  are we?" Face whined. 

  "We don't have a choice. I want you and B.A. to go visit that hacker 
  friend of yours who says he can get in anywhere. Let's find out just how 
  good he is. Check on all three, Kennedy, Gibbs, and Wells. Face, what do 
  we have that we can give Murdock to insure he sleeps for a while? I 
  think we're going to have company soon, and I don't want him questioned. 
  He's upset enough as it is." 

  "Well, yeah, we have something. You sure, Hannibal? Because I don't 
  think Murdock's going to like this?" 

  "Don't worry, Face. I'm sure. Do it. If one of these guys is a renegade, 
  I don't have to tell you how dangerous he will be. Be Careful! Now hurry 
  up and get out of here." 

  Face decided to use the hypo on Murdock before he got dressed, just in 
  case. He was hoping Murdock would never know he was the one giving the 
  injection. He took the alcohol wipe, and gently swabbed his bicep, then 
  quickly administered the medication. In the middle of extracting the 
  hypodermic, Murdock opened his eyes and looked at Face. Big brown eyes, 
  tinged with hurt, asked why? Face, feeling guilty, sighed, and then 
  explained, "Bad guys are coming. Colonel wants you asleep." The captain 
  smiled, understanding, and closed his eyes, letting the medication go to 
  work. 

  The lieutenant and B.A. were ready to go when B.A. spoke up. "I don't 
  like the idea of leaving you alone here with Murdock. Especially when 
  you have him all doped up and useless." 

  "It's all right. B.A. We'll be fine. Go Now and check in every half 
  hour. Use my watch alarm. okay?" 

  "All right, Hannibal, but be careful." 

  Hannibal smiled, but a hint of the jazz was in his eyes as he answered 
  "I intend to." that left B.A. feeling concerned. 

  Hannibal laid down on the chaise lounge, giving the appearance of a 
  totally relaxed vacationer. He held up a copy of the N.Y.Times, then 
  gradually let it fall as he feigned sleep. He had removed his gun 
  earlier. Approximately a half hour after the van left with Face and B.A. 
  he opened his eyes to find a stranger, armed with an automatic weapon 
  enter the deck and approach him. At the same time, his watch alarm went 
  off. Hannibal silenced it. 

  "Colonel Smith, I presume?" the stranger asked. 

  "Who wants to know?" asked Hannibal.. 

  "John Wells, C.I.A." the stranger announced, and flipped an I.D. badge 
  over for Hannibal to peruse. 

  Hannibal flipped the I.D. back, "What do you want, Wells?" 

  "I'd like to speak with Captain Murdock?" 

  "I'm sorry, but he's under sedation. He's not talking to anybody right 
  now." replied Hannibal. 

  Wells mumbled something into his wrist. A moment later he nodded. 
  Hannibal could just barely make out the receiver in his ear, just the 
  tell tale wire. He could also faintly make out the slight bulge of an 
  ankle holster. 

  "So what did your friend tell you about me?" wells asked. 

  "What makes you think he told me anything about you?" the colonel 
  replied. 

  "Your boy did a lot of talking with you last night. I'm sure he told you 
  something." 

  "As a matter of fact, Wells, he did. But it was so far fetched, it was 
  hard to believe. Something about a renegade agent, and the company 
  wanting to hire us?" Hannibal asked. 

  "That's right. We have a problem. Gibbs has been a long time agent that 
  has always just barely managed to pass his annual psyche evaluations. He 
  has a tendency to unnecessary violence, and sociopathic patterns of 
  behavior that would be unacceptable for the average person. But in Gibbs 
  line of work, it's what keeps him alive. Somewhere along the line, we 
  lost control of him. He's gotten a list of inactive agents, and somehow 
  convinced them they were activated and must follow his directions. 
  Everyone on the list has eventually turned up dead. Everyone except 
  Captain Murdock. We need to terminate Gibbs service with the company. We 
  have been after him for three months now with no luck. He knows our 
  methods better than us. We need someone unorthodox to chase him down. 
  Not to mention, he has always been fascinated with you guys. He'd visit 
  Murdock with any excuse, just to listen to him talk about you guys." 

  "It's nice to know we have a fanclub, but he's not really the audience 
  we were aiming for. I'll tell you what I'll agree to. We'll get Gibbs, 
  and if what you say is true, we'll turn him over to you. We will not 
  terminate him." the colonel drawled while he puffed on his cigar. "As 
  for Murdock., anybody from the company ever approaches him again and 
  you'll be short an agent. He's served his country enough, he's suffered 
  enough. Leave him alone. Understood?" 

  Wells nodded." I accept those terms. If you can find Gibbs and turn him 
  over, I'll guarantee no one else bothers Captain Murdock." 

  Hannibal nodded, smiling as Wells continued to lie, making Hannibal want 
  to puke. The Colonel wondered if there really was a renegade, maybe it 
  was Wells not Gibbs. He stood to shake hands, and after Wells left, felt 
  like he needed a shower. He was definitely a slime. 



  Face looked down at his young hacker friend, Houdini. He literally lived 
  in this one room and adjoining bath. Fast food cartons and wrappings 
  were strewn around the room. Face thought of the large sprawling house 
  he was standing in and doubted if his friend could even remember how 
  many rooms there were. For the right fee, Houdini could hack into 
  anywhere and never leave a trace. Although the right fee was usually 
  extraordinary sums of cash, Face had a fee just as good. C.I.A. scandal. 
  Houdini could sell it fifty times over. 

  The info on Kennedy appeared first. Killed in the line of duty 
  ,approximately one year ago. Temporarily teamed with Gibbs, he been 
  killed by a car bomb in Lebanon. Face read the profile over again, and 
  knew something didn't fit. He didn't know what. Not long after, came an 
  abbreviated file on Gibbs. Face noticed there was no mention of him 
  working in Lebanon. Nothing exciting in it either, except the psyche 
  evaluations. Based on the evaluations, he could easily be committed in 
  any state in the country. 

  Finally, the info on Wells showed up. The file was even skimpier than 
  Gibbs. Face glanced through it quickly, not seeing anything of use. Than 
  Houdini whistled. 

  "What is it?" Face asked. 

  "We're being followed. Interesting. Don't worry, I'll lose him, I just 
  want to know who it is." 

  Face watched nervously as Houdini's fingers flew across the keys. After 
  about twenty minutes, he sat back in his chair, smiling. pleased with 
  himself. 

  "Well, did you  lose them?' Face asked. 

  "Of course," Houdini answered. 

  "Who was it?" asked Face. 

  "Just some army dude calls himself Hot Rod. No sweat." replied the 
  hacker. 

  "Army dude? Can you find out his real name?" asked Face worriedly. 

  "For a price, I can find out anything you want to know. You paying?" 

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm paying. It couldn't be him, but just to be on the 
  safe side" 

  "Got it." Houdini exclaimed excitedly. "It was a Col. Roderick Decker." 

  "Great!! Hannibal is going to love this!" Face mumbled to himself. He 
  thanked his hacker friend and promised to get back to him when he found 
  out who the renegade agent was with all the appropriate details. Then he 
  left to join B.A. in the van. 

  "What took you so long man? Hannibal's bugged out. He and Murdock are at 
  Lin Duc's place. He wants to see what you got." said B.A. 

  "Well, I've got a surprise for him. Decker's involved." Face commented, 
  watching B.A.'s face for reaction. 

  "Say what?! " B.A.'s head jerked around to stare at Face. "What's he 
  doing in this? I thought Hannibal said it was a Company problem?" 

  "Well, B.A., it's a problem all right and there seems to be plenty of 
  company. I wonder what our fearless leader will say." 

  Approximately fortyfive minutes later, in the basement of Lin Duc Coo's 
  restaurant, Face found out what Hannibal would say. Face had shown him 
  all the printouts on Kennedy, Gibbs, and Wells. He saved Decker for 
  last. Face knew he was going to surprise the colonel and was looking 
  forward to being one up on him. Face expected Hannibal to be annoyed. He 
  hadn't expected the white hot rage. 

  Hannibal looked back at Face, barely able to control the fury he was 
  feeling. If Decker was behind this mess, if this whole C.I.A. mess 
  turned out to be a military plot to snag the A Team, if all the pain 
  Murdock had suffered was a result of Deckers subterfuge, then the Army 
  might be down a colonel. "Bring him to me." 

  "But Hannibal," 

  "Now, Lieutenant. Take B.A. and bring me Decker. Alive. For now. 
  Dismissed." Hannibal watched Face leave the room. Hannibal couldn't 
  remember the last time he had felt so angry. He needed to calm down and 
  try to figure out what the hell was really going on. 

  Lin Duk appeared at just that moment. He brought some freshly baked 
  pastries and coffee. After eating more pastries than he should have, 
  Hannibal at least felt calmer. He sat back and sipped his coffee trying 
  to think of various scenarios to explain Decker's involvement. He finally 
  admitted to himself that there was no way of determining the extent of 
  Decker's involvement until he could meet him face-to-face and look him in 
  the eye. Lin Duc reappeared and offered Hannibal the services of a shy 
  ,young girl, obviously Oriental. Hannibal was momentarily taken aback by 
  his friend, when Lin explained she was a licensed masseuse. Then the 
  colonel smiled and agreed. After the massage, Lin took him to a small 
  sauna. Whenever he asked about Murdock, Lin assured him he was fine. 
  Hannibal asked if he had awakened yet, Lin explained he was currently 
  getting the same massage Hannibal had just received and would be joining 
  him in the sauna shortly. 

  The colonel looked up when Murdock entered, pleased with his appearance. 
  He looked a lot better. The forced sleep had done him good. The tall 
  pilot walked in with just a towel around his waist and sat down opposite 
  the colonel. 

  "How you feeling Murdock?" the colonel asked. 

  Murdock half smiled at him, "I feel better, Colonel. A lot better." 
  There was a long pause before Murdock continued. " It's just hard, ya 
  know. Everything I would see something that was interesting or different, 
  I would come home and tell Tracy all about it. Sometimes she couldn't 
  understand, too many voices yelling at her. She'd tear at her arms then 
  with her fingernails, or sometimes she'd scratch her face. But no matter 
  what hell she was in, she'd always let me hold her, and sing that 
  lullaby you taught Face. This place," Murdock looked around, "Well it's 
  the kind of thing she liked knowing about. Who would think there were 
  all these luxurious rooms are down in the basement of a Chinese 
  restaurant? Even a sauna! She had long chestnut hair, and when she was 
  really listening to me, she start sucking on the tips of it. It was the 
  strangest thing and it used to arouse the hell out of me. When she was 
  real agitated she'd come to me with a brush and squat on the floor in 
  front of me, wanting me to brush her hair. Some days I would brush it 
  for hours. Sometimes, when things got too much for her she would just 
  want to dance. At first she would be all frantic, but after a while we 
  would just stand there, and she would just melt into my body and we would 
  just gently rock. She fit so nice in my arms. I'll never forget the way 
  she felt. Did you ever do that with a girl Hannibal? Just stand there 
  and rock? You should try it, it's nice. She needed me, Hannibal. No one 
  ever needed me as bad as she did. God, I miss her." Murdock flung his 
  head back, blinking away the tears, looking up at clouds of steam 
  billowing across the ceiling. 

  Hannibal chose not to say anything for several minutes. "She must have 
  been real special, Murdock. How come you never brought her around?" he 
  finally asked. 

  "I was going to. She'd been doing real well and been discharged to a 
  family care program. She'd come and visit me most every day. As long as 
  she remembered to take her meds, she was fine. Then, she was raped, 
  coming home from visiting me. Beaten and raped." Murdock's voice started 
  to tremble, "And given Aids." the pilot bowed his head and ran his 
  fingers through his sparse hair in an agitated fashion. "She couldn't 
  stand to be touched after that. They couldn't seem to stabilize her 
  medication dosage, either. Like it wasn't bad enough she had to deal 
  with the rape, she had to deal with the voices too. It got worse and 
  worse, till finally, in her very last days, she was lucid. It was like 
  the Aids virus was killing off everything, even her schizophrenia. The 
  doctors never saw anything like it. Never." Murdock leaned his head back 
  again and closed his eyes. 

  Hannibal hurt for his friend as he searched for the right words of 
  comfort. Finally, he just said simply, "I'm glad you knew each other." 

  Murdock nodded, his head down again. 

  The door opened than and Lin announced Face and B.A. were back with a 
  prisoner. Hannibal stood readily, slapped Murdock on the shoulder and 
  instructed him to stay with Lin. 

  Decker sat on the floor in the corner of the room. Peck and Baracus were 
  both guarding him and seemed not the least bit concerned that they had 
  just kidnapped a U.S. Army Officer. He could hear them, but couldn't see 
  them because of the blindfold. He was reasonably certain, from the sounds 
  and smells they were in China town. That narrowed it down to one of two 
  places. Lin Duk Coo's, or the Golden Pagoda. They were the only places 
  the A Team ever went in Chinatown 

  Hannibal entered the room then. "Face, go stay with Murdock. B.A., you 
  stay here." 

  Decker stood wanting to be on even ground with Smith. There was 
  something about Smith's tone of voice that Decker didn't like, 
  nevertheless he felt compelled to bait him. "What's the matter Smith? 
  Your flyboy need a baby-sitter?" 

  He heard Smith approach him and wondered what comment he'd come back 
  with when out of the blue he took a blow to his midsection that doubled 
  him up immediately. Smith grabbed him by the shoulders and tore off the 
  blindfold and angry ice blue eyes glared at him, telling Decker he had 
  badly miscalculated. Tell me what you know about Gibbs and Wells. Now." 

Decker looked at Smith, at the same time noticing the concerned look on 
  Baracus. "I didn't think hitting defenseless men was your style, Smith." 
  he drawled. 

  The colonel's nostrils flared as he acknowledged the verbal hit. "Tell 
  me what you know about Gibbs and Wells." Smith demanded. 

  "Sounds like a company name." Decker replied, watching Smith's reactions 
  intently. 

  "You think I'm playing?" Hannibal asked in a deadly quiet voice, then 
  continued in the same dangerous tone, "I'm not playing, Hot Rod." 
  Hannibal pulled out a revolver and laid the barrel across the top of 
  Decker’s head. "I know you been chasing them on the computer, I want to 
  know why?" 

  "Why don't you ask Murdock? He knows more than me." 

  Hannibal reached back to hit him again, nut B.A. grabbed his hand. "You 
  go check on Face. I'll get the info you want. He ain't gonna play no 
  games with me." Hannibal hesitated a moment, then calmly walked out of 
  the room. 

  "Listen, sucker. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. What's it 
  going to be?" 

  Decker looked at the intimidating figure B.A. made, and reckoned his 
  chances for not complying at zero. 

  "What do you want to know?" he asked. 



  B.A. listened intently for the better part of an hour as Decker droned 
  on, a virtual fountain of information. Finally, a suspicious B.A. held 
  his gun aimed at Decker and demanded, "Why you telling me all this info 
  so easy?" 

  "Son, if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's Smith doesn't work for the 
  C.I.A. I know the story Wells is spreading about a renegade agent. Maybe 
  I can help." 

  B.A. looked at him like he was definitely insane, and nudged him out of 
  the room with his gun barrel. "We're gonna go see Hannibal and see what 
  he has to say. He's worried about Murdock, so don't play no games with 
  him. Or you'll have to deal with me." 

  He led Decker down a maze of several long and twisting hallways until he 
  reached a door with an armed guard. They nodded at each other and B.A. 
  said the password, then they entered a luxurious room. The floor was 
  white marble tile, there was a flagstone fireplace on one wall, with a 
  ledge to sit on that ran the length of the wall, at least twelve feet. 
  One wall was a mural of the view from a terrace. It was astonishingly 
  lifelike. There were several large plush leather sofas scattered around, 
  as well as a bar, a refrigerator, and a microwave. There was a computer 
  set up in one corner on a desk. Long ceiling fans hung from the ceiling. 
  There were several doors. Decker had no idea where they led. Face was 
  seated before the computer, busily tapping keys, Hannibal was sitting at 
  a small table eating a sandwich, and drinking a beer. Murdock was laid 
  out on the floor with a headset on staring up at an oversized screen tv. 
  watching cartoons. 

  Every head but Murdock's turned as B.A. and Decker entered the room. 
  Hannibal slowly put down his sandwich and wiped his mouth. "What did you 
  find out, Sergeant?" he asked B.A. 

  "I think he's on the level, Hannibal. He wants to help. He knows a lot 
  of stuff. You got to decide." 

  Hannibal was up walking around, taking in everything about Decker's 
  posture and body language before making eye contact with him. "Give me 
  one reason why I should believe you?" the colonel asked bitterly. 

  "As long as I've chased you, you have always protected your men. Now, 
  you've slipped up. Because of you, Murdock's been caught in the 
  crossfire. You know the company, you know how ruthless they are. They 
  must have jumped for joy when they found they had something like you to 
  bargain with. The way things stand right now, the odds of your team 
  being able to keep Murdock alive are zilch. Even If I help you, the odds 
  are still in their favor, but at least there's a chance. I have 
  surveillance records on both of them. I've been able to assess their 
  personalities a little. There's no way you're going to be able to find 
  either one. You're going to have to put Murdock out there and lure him 
  in." 

  "No!" Hannibal shouted, "No, I'm not risking his life like that." 

  "You already have. At least let him be in control of what happens. Why 
  don't you ask him? It's his life." 

  "Maybe he's not competent to judge." 

"Do you really believe that?" 

  "No. "Hannibal sighed, reluctant to agree with Decker but knowing he had 
  no choice. "Come on, sit down, let's talk." 

  Decker held up his handcuffed hands in a silent request to have them 
  removed. Hannibal nodded at B.A., who unlocked the cuffs. Decker shook 
  his hands a little to get rid of the stiffness and glanced around the 
  room again. Murdock was still laid out by the tv. Face stood nearby, 
  almost protectively, thought Decker. He followed Smith to the table and 
  sat down opposite him. Smith appeared more in control, more confident. 
  There was a strange glint in his eye and Decker wondered if had been 
  crazy to offer to help. 

  "You said you want to help. You've given B.A. a lot of information. Why? 
  Are you calling an official truce between us? What are the terms? Just 
  how far are you willing to go to help us? What's in it for you Decker?" 

  "I'm willing to declare a temporary truce, when it's over, you can drop 
  me somewhere, and the truce will be over. As for what's in it for me, 
  Colonel, there is nothing lovelier than having the C.I.A. be in your 
  debt. Just the chance is enough for me to agree to help you." 

  Hannibal pulled out a cigar, then bit off the end and spit it out . 
  "Face" he called without losing eye contact with Decker. Face 
  came, depositing two frosty cold bottles of beer and looked at Hannibal 
  questioningly. "Get him a sandwich, Face. Oh, and see if we have any 
  more of those little things I like." 

  "The miniature croissants filled with cream? Of course, although at the 
  rate you've been picking on them, frankly I doubt it." 

  Hannibal waved him off and started talking tactics with Decker. 



  Decker sat in front of the computer, requesting files and printing out 
  data. Hannibal had watched, somewhat amused. When Decker had returned 
  with an armload of data, and a list of probable methods of termination, 
  the colonel's amusement turned to serious interest, tinged with 
  amazement. The two long time opponents worked steadily, almost in perfect 
  unity, oblivious to everyone in the room but each other. Murdock had 
  been startled to see Decker in the room, but he trusted the colonel's 
  judgment and accepted Decker's presence. Murdock thought about the two 
  colonels and how brilliant each could be. Together they made a very 
  formidable opponent. He looked up and saw Face watching him, all 
  concerned. 

  "Whatsa matter, Facey?" Murdock asked while thumping the floor next to 
  him. Murdock knew Face would be very uncomfortable working with Decker. 

  "Can you believe this Murdock? Decker!" Face hissed at him after sitting 
  down on the floor next to the pilot. 

  Murdock put an arm around his friend and laid his head on his 
  shoulder.  "It’s okay, Face Kid, you have to trust Hannibal." Murdock 
  tucked his body into Face and closed his eyes, warm and comfortable. 

  "I trust Hannibal. He's not the problem." Face replied, sounding 
  depressed. "It's just, well, he's been after us for so long, I mean, 
  it's hard Murdock. It's really hard for me. Murdock? Murdock! I don't 
  believe it!" Face looked down at the pilot sprawled all over him. 
  "You're asleep. Just like that. Not a care , not a worry. How can you do 
  that? It's your life that's at stake here, at least you could stay awake 
  and worry with me." 

  "Worrying about himself is just not his style, Face. You know that." 
  Hannibal said with a grin. 

  Startled by Hannibal's voice right above him, Face pushed Murdock away 
  from him, waking the pilot up. Murdock looked up to see Hannibal and 
  Decker looking down at him with keen interest, so he gave them a sassy 
  salute and inquired, "Mon Colonels?" 

  "How are you feeling, son?" asked Decker. 

  Murdock looked eagerly from one colonel to the other, "I am ready for 
  action sirs." he grinned. 

  Hannibal grinned back, eyes glinting, obviously on the jazz.. "Good. 
  Come on and tell us what you think of the plan." he replied with a 
  stubby cigar stuck between his teeth. 

  The plan turned out to be relatively simple, but extremely dangerous. 
  Hannibal had reasoned if they knew to look for them in the beach house, 
  they must be aware of other houses Face liked to use. They would pick 
  the one Face was most likely to select and send Murdock to it. The house 
  in question was a canyon home. Only one way in and one way out. They 
  would set up one team, Face and B.A., on one side, with Hannibal and 
  Decker on the other. The renegade would make his move and they would 
  capture him. Simple. Murdock loved the plan. Face hated it. B.A. thought 
  it was an okay plan. 

  "What's the matter Lieutenant?" asked Hannibal, meanwhile knowing 
  exactly what was the matter. The plan had holes, lots of them. 

  "Hannibal, you can't let him go in there alone. You can't. He'll be a 
  sitting duck. He won't have a chance." 

  "I'm open to suggestions Face?" 

  "One of us should be with him, driving him there and escorting him 
  inside. Otherwise, it looks like a trap. They know us well enough to 
  focus on this house, than they know you'd never send Murdock alone." 

  "The kids right, Smith." said Decker and although he didn't say it out 
  loud, you could almost hear the 'I told you so' in his voice. 

  "All right. I'll be the escort." "That leaves Decker alone. " 

  "Good observation kid." 

  "But Hannibal - " 

  Hannibal interrupted. "This is the way it is kid. Decker is on the team. 
  For this one mission, I trust him. If you can't trust him, you're off 
  the mission." 

  "But - " 

  "On or off kid?" 

  Face frowned, was he the only sane one in the bunch? "All right, all 
  right. On." 

  Like a well oiled machine, the team came to life and began to put the 
  plan in motion. Weapons were decided upon, and exact placement locations 
  of the various team members. Vehicles, supplies, even radios and signals 
  were all acquired or established. Murdock sat on a couch watching his 
  friends scurry around. Hannibal walked over and sat down beside him. 

  "What do you think Captain?" the colonel asked. 

  "About what?' the captain replied. 

  "Think the plan will work?" 

  "Maybe not the way you planned it, but it will work." 

  "It's dangerous, Murdock. If you want to back out, there's still time." 

  Murdock just smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, Hannibal. I'll be 
  fine." 



  That night the team sat huddled together in the van, all eyes on an 
  infra red heat sensitive recon photo of the area Decker had been able to 
  call up. It clearly showed a person already camped on both sides of the 
  canyon. As Hannibal entered the canyon road, he brought the van to a 
  stop, kept the engine idling, and got out with some night vision goggles 
  and looked around. Hopefully, all eyes were on him because at the same 
  time, Decker, Face and B.A. were slipping silently out of the van to go 
  to their respective positions. After looking around for several minutes, 
  Hannibal got back in the van and continued. He parked the van horizontal 
  to the front door, partially blocking it, then shielding Murdock with 
  his body ran to the front entrance, pushing Murdock in ahead of him, 
  keeping him out of the line of fire. Hannibal was just about to sigh 
  with relief when he was hit from behind and sagged to the floor 
  unconscious. The figure was dressed all in black and was wearing a ski 
  mask. He carried an uzi, which Murdock couldn't help thinking was 
  overkill. "Give them the signal." the figure demanded. 

  Murdock hesitated. 

  "Give them the signal or he dies. Now.!" 

  Murdock walked over to the window stiffly, and brought the shade up to 
  the half way mark. 

  "Give them the backup signal." 

  "Backup?" Murdock asked, "Like cars? You need B.A. for that. I don't do 
  cars. I can do animals. Wanna hear me do a horsie?" 

  The figure silently fired a shot at Hannibal's prone figure, splintering 
  the wood floor. Murdock gasped, "Wh-what you want?" 

  "Give them the second signal." 

  "Sure." Murdock walked over to the other front window and pulled the 
  shade up there as well. Then he returned to the first window and brought 
  the shade all the way down. 

  "B.A. Take him, Decker Go get him, I'll go to the house." Face said into 
  the radio in an urgent voice. Murdock had given the signal for trouble. 
  They were not alone. He ran swiftly through the woods on a path worked 
  out ahead of time. He arrived alert and slightly winded, carefully making 
  his way into the house. He found Hannibal's body, noted the strong pulse 
  and continued his search for the pilot. He looked in every room without 
  success when he heard the helicopter. He raced outside, but it was too 
  late. Already it had taken off and was heading out of sight rapidly. He 
  got on the radio to find that Decker had Gibbs, and B.A. Wells. Face 
  shook his head and groaned "What a mess!" 

  Hannibal sat up with Face's support. His head hurt, but that wasn't 
  important now. "Where's B.A.?" he demanded. 

  "Coming in with Wells." 

  "Have you checked the transmitters we planted?" 

  "Yeah, but they left by helicopter, and they're out of range." 

  Hannibal closed his eyes and swore. While Hannibal struggled to come up 
  with a plan, Decker entered with Gibbs. B.A. followed five minutes later 
  with Gibbs. Hannibal instructed B.A. to make the prisoners secure and 
  stand the first watch. He ordered Face to check the perimeter. Silently 
  he motioned for B.A. to sweep the room for bugs. After checking the 
  house carefully, B.A. announced the house was clean. 

  "What are we gonna do now, Hannibal? How we gonna find that crazy fool?" 


  "We're not, B.A. Whoever it is that has Murdock will find us. Remember, 
  we have what they want," the colonel looked pointedly in the direction 
  of Gibbs and Wells. "What we need to find out is why?" 

  "Smith, how about giving me a go with them? It's been a long time since 
  I could carry on an interrogation with no holds barred." Decker had a 
  positively evil look on his face. 

  "Fine, but take B.A. I wouldn't want you to enjoy it too much." 

  Decker just snickered in reply. "Come on, Baracus. We'll do them one at 
  a time in that back room. This is going to be fun," he said with a 
  wicked gleam in his eye. 

  Face returned from checking the perimeter just in time to catch the 
  latest remarks between Hannibal and Decker. He was livid. He looked from 
  one colonel to the other and demanded in a very emotional voice, "Is 
  anybody worried about Murdock, or is just how many points you can score 
  off each other?" 

  The smile faded from both their faces, as two colonels turned around to 
  look at him. "Face" Hannibal started but the upset lieutenant cut him 
  off with "Don’t Face me! I'm sick of it. Murdock's life is at stake here, 
  it's on the line, and you don't even know who has him or where he might 
  be. Well. what are you doing about it except standing around preening in 
  front of each other." 

  Hannibal started walking over towards him, but Face demanded "No. I 
  don't want to hear it. I want you to come up with a plan and find 
  Murdock." 

  Hannibal took a long, cool look at his lieutenant. Face had worked 
  himself up into a good temper. Hannibal knew from times past, the only 
  thing to do was agree and walk away. Hannibal could have kicked himself 
  for not seeing this coming. He knew Face was the most insecure member of 
  the team. Add to that the fact that he was the closest member of the 
  team to Murdock, and the fact that Murdock usually dealt with Face's 
  insecurities, the outburst was inevitable. "I'm sorry. We're working on 
  it. Rod's going to interrogate Gibbs." 

  Decker nodded, happy to have an excuse to leave the room. 

  "What are you going to do?" Face asked, still miffed with Hannibal's 
  behavior. 

  Just then the phone rang. Hannibal walked towards it, relieved at the 
  distraction and announced, "I'm going to answer the phone." 

  "Hello, Smith. How does your head feel?" the eerie computerized voice 
  said. "Did you get Gibbs?" 

  "Yeah. We did. Where's Murdock?" Hannibal answered. 

  "Oh, good,good,good. I want you to bring me Gibbs, Colonel. Preferably 
  dead. Definitely unconscious. Wouldn't you like to know where we are?" 
  asked the artificial voice. 

  It took all of Hannibal's self control to calmly ask the question, 
  "Where are you?" 

  "Oh my, you mean you really don't know? Tsk, tsk, I thought you were 
  better than that Colonel. Well, I'm not in a hurry, and I have so much 
  to chat about with H.M. Did you know we knew the same woman, in the 
  biblical sense of course. She liked it rough, Murdock, and I had her 
  begging - " Unworldly, maniacal laughter suddenly filled the phone. 

  Hannibal's grip on the receiver tightened, "You mean you're the one who 
  raped Tracy?" 

  "Semantics, Colonel, semantics. I prefer to think of it as expanded her 
  sexual experiences. She was such an eager little thing, - " There was 
  the sound of a scuffle and than a loud whack! The strange voice returned 
  ,"Excuse me. Your friend Murdock was being a tad difficult. So as I was 
  saying, bring Gibbs. You have three hours. Then Murdock dies." 

  Hannibal continued to listen but all he heard now was a dial tone. He 
  felt like he had been kicked in the chest. There was no way they would 
  be able to find Murdock in that time. He laid the phone back in the 
  cradle and looked up to see all eyes on him. They might as well know the 
  worst he thought. "Whoever has Murdock, is the same person who raped 
  Tracy. They have given us three hours to find him, or he kills Murdock." 


  Out of nowhere came Decker's low drawl, "Well, then, we're in luck. I 
  just happen to have a surveillance photo of the man who committed that 
  crime. We turned it over to the police." 

  "The police don't have any photo, Decker, or a suspect. I know, I 
  checked the police report for Hannibal." 

  "That's impossible.  "Decker replied, than looking at the two agents Wells 
  and Gibbs, "maybe not, if we're looking for a company man. Face, where's 
  the nearest fax machine?" 

  "I have one in the van." 

  "Good. Let me call Crane and have him fax that photo here." 

  Face looked at Hannibal worriedly at bringing Crane into the mix, but 
  there really wasn't any choice. Hannibal nodded at Decker, giving him 
  the okay. Twenty minutes later a grainy black and white photo was slowly 
  working it's way out of the fax machine. Once it was complete, Face tore 
  it off, studied it and shook his head in despair. It was no one he knew. 
  He handed the photo to Hannibal, who seared the features into his memory 
  for future reference, but he too had never seen the face. B.A. looked 
  and shook his head no. Finally Decker, no luck there either. Hannibal 
  was at his wits end when he grabbed the photo and walked over to Gibbs 
  and thrust it in his face. He didn't say anything, and there was no 
  obvious reaction, but Hannibal had detected a glimmer of recognition. He 
  showed it to Wells and his reaction was conclusive. He walked back to 
  Gibbs and said "This is the man who wants you dead." 

  "Impossible." Gibbs answered. 

  "Decker, what do you think we have here?" he asked. 

  "Let's see." Decker drawled, " Seems to me we have the big fish," here 
  Decker held up the photo, swallowing the little fish, here he looked at 
  Wells, and having him swallow the little fish, Gibbs. Gibbs, you found 
  out something, somehow you have jeopardized this man's position. For him 
  to go to all this trouble, he has to be a mole. Think about it 
  gentlemen, you'll see I'm right." 

  Gibbs looked at Wells uncertainly. They asked for a few minutes alone 
  and Decker granted it. Five minutes later Gibbs and Wells told them 
  everything they knew and offered to help in any way they could. 

  "So," Hannibal said, "Now we have a name to go with the picture and two 
  hours to find Murdock. I am open to ideas Gentlemen." 

  Before anyone could answer, the phone rang. Hannibal answered it. 

  "Still there Colonel? Oh my, I am so disappointed. My sources said you 
  were so much better. I guess you can't trust anyone these days, can you? 
  How is Gibbs? Let me hear his sweet voice." The disembodied voice 
  commanded. 

  Hannibal asked "Why should I?" 

  The only reply was the sound of Murdock screaming in pain. "How's that 
  for a good reason?" the voice asked. 

  "All right, all right. Leave Murdock alone. What do you want?" Hannibal 
  asked in defeated tones. 

  "I want what I have always wanted. Gibbs. Bring him now." 

  "Where?" Hannibal asked. 

  "To Indian Island at Crystal Lake. The clock is running, gentlemen. You 
  have two hours." 



  Hannibal called B.A. over and asked, "How long to drive to Crystal Lake 
  from here?" 

  "At least an hour, man. Maybe more." B.A. replied in a concerned voice. 

  "Get everyone in the van and let's go." 

  Decker offered the use of a military plane or chopper, but Hannibal 
  explained MacGregor was too smart. He'd be checking the van for 
  occupants if he just sent the van ahead. 

  "But Smith, you know he's going to blow this van right out of the 
  water." 

  "Well, Hot Rod, I know he's going to try. I also know Murdock is there 
  and he's alive and well. That gives me a big edge." 

  "How can you say that? The man is crazy on a good day, from what I've 
  seen of him since I've been here, he's useless." 

  "I'll tell you a secret, Decker. Never, ever underestimate Captain 
  Murdock. Add to that the fact that Murdock knows this is the man that 
  raped his woman and exposed her to AIDS, well, I just hope we get there 
  before Murdock kills him, not that it would be any great loss to the 
  human race, but the Company probably has a few questions they'd like to 
  ask. Right boys?" Hannibal turned around to ask the two agents, who were 
  still shackled because as Hannibal said, "I like you guys and I believe 
  you guys, but I trust you about as far as I can spit." 



  Murdock regained consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes and the bright 
  light hurt. It didn't help that the room was spinning around on a crazy 
  angle. He focused on one corner of the room and finally stopped the 
  spinning. He was laying on the floor with a gag in his mouth, his hands 
  handcuffed behind his back. Fifteen feet away on the other side of the 
  room he could see him. He was setting up some type of miniature rocket 
  launcher. Murdock's feet itched to move, but his ankles were bound 
  tightly together. He tried desperately to loosen the cord on his feet 
  but only succeeded in attracting his attention. 

  "You know what you sound like? Like a mouse on a glue board. So frantic 
  to get away, but no matter how hard they try, they don't go anywhere. 
  Your friends will be coming soon. They're bringing Gibbs. Have you 
  figured out the ending yet? I guess you might say when your friends hear 
  the ending, they're going to be blown away." He broke off into maniacal 
  laughter. 

  For a moment, just a moment, Murdock was tempted to give into the 
  despair he felt welling up all around him. Then he thought of Tracey and 
  remembered how hard she had fought this monster. He remembered the first 
  time he visited her after the rape, how her face was just covered with 
  purple welts, how swollen her eyes and lips were. She had never stopped 
  fighting. Murdock felt a surge of strength at the thought of her 
  courage. He closed his eyes and concentrated on slipping his feet out of 
  his sneakers. He felt stronger and stronger, and for just a moment he 
  felt her there with him. He didn't see anything, he didn't hear 
  anything, but he felt her presence, if only for a moment. It was almost 
  easy after that. Once his right foot was finally free, it only took a 
  moment to release the left. Then he stretched his arms finally bringing 
  the cuffs to his knees where he slid his legs through, which put his 
  cuffed hands in front of rather than behind. Time was running out. 
  Murdock could see him taking aim on an object, and he could hear the 
  sound of a boat. Without another thought, Murdock launched himself at 
  the man at the window. He wrapped the cuffs around his neck and then 
  tightened them in an attempt to strangle him. The man Murdock fought 
  with was no amateur. Their fierce struggle took them rolling across the 
  floor, where in desperation they each took to giving the other vicious 
  head butts. 

  Hannibal and the team arrived at the lake with thirty minutes left to 
  get to Murdock. The trip there had taken longer than expected due to 
  road work and detours. They left Wells behind in the van, just in case 
  things went wrong. Hannibal wanted to leave Decker behind too. 

  Decker had just looked at him, "Do you know how many impossible 
  situations I have seen you get yourselves out of? Well, today, I'm not 
  watching!" 
 
Hannibal had just smiled and let him come along. The trip across the 
  Lake was hair raising as everyone waited for something to happen, but 
  nothing did. Instead of being relieved, this only made Hannibal more 
  concerned. They scrambled up the hill to the house MacGregor had 
  described in his last call to Hannibal. He entered first, with Decker 
  and the rest of the team on his heels. He saw the bodies right away. 
  MacGregor's head was at an impossible angle, his eyes open even in 
  death. Murdock was sprawled across him, the side of his head bloodied 
  and bruised. Hannibal knelt at his side and searched for a pulse. He 
  sighed in relief when he found it. Carefully, he dragged Murdock's body 
  away from the corpse. Face came over with a wet cloth to wipe the blood 
  away. 

  Murdock opened his eyes to see Hannibal and Face peering down at him, 
  eyes filled with concern. He looked around for the nameless villain he 
  had fought in a life or death struggle, and saw his dead body a few feet 
  away. He smiled then, in victory. He was proud he had saved his friends, 
  proud he had avenged Tracy. Tracy. 

  Face looked around the room, at the handcuffs still on Murdock's wrists, 
  at the dead body, "How did you do this all alone?" he asked. 

  "I wasn't always alone. She was here, just for a moment. She gave me all 
  the strength I needed." 

  Hannibal and Face turned to look at each other, but neither man said a 
  word. They pulled the captain to his feet, and Hannibal whispered 
  something in his ear. Murdock nodded. Hannibal smiled, his blue eyes 
  sparkling with the jazz, and nodded to B.A. B.A. walked up behind 
  Decker, as Face approached Decker. From the front, B.A. jabbed with a 
  hypodermic needle and some of B.A 's sleeping medication. Then Face 
  turned to Gibbs and apologized for not having another needle, then 
  driving his fist into his jaw. 

  "Let's go, gentlemen." 

  "Where we going Hannibal?" asked B.A. 

  "Out the back door." 

  "I ain't flying, Hannibal." 

  "I know that, help me with Murdock." 

  B.A. helped Hannibal support Murdock as they walked along a wooded path 
  that finally came to a clearing and a small green helicopter with no 
  markings, fully armed. 

  Murdock pushed Hannibal and B.A. away at the sight of the beautiful 
  machine. A big smile lit up his face. "Oh, Hannibal, this is nice. You 
  know how fast these babies can go?" he asked enthusiastically. There was 
  a loud thud as B.A. collapsed to the ground. 

  "Geez, Face. I was beginning to wonder if you gave it to him." Hannibal 
  said half kidding. 

  "I gave it to him, but I think he's building up a tolerance." Face 
  muttered. 

  Soon they were all settled and Murdock fired up the engines. He rose 
  slowly and looked around. He spotted the beach where only a year ago he 
  had frolicked with Tracy on a hospital day trip.. He turned the chopper 
  slowly till it faced the house they had just come from. His hand reached 
  for the trigger. Hannibal stiffened. Murdock hovered there, oblivious to 
  the other three, fighting a war of wills with himself. He kept 
  remembering the other man's words about being blown away. At the last 
  second, he remembered Decker was in the house too. Suddenly, he let go 
  of the trigger, pointed the nose up, and accelerated. 

  "Okay, Captain. Take us home." 

  "Roger, Colonel. " then the captain howled loudly. Face looked on 
  indulgently and Hannibal bit off the end of a cigar and said "I love it 
  when a plan comes together.". 

  THE END