Just Before the Storm

The team looked across the riverbank at the hut beyond. Hannibal sent Tia out to go up the tree and look in to see how many men are in the hut and see what is going on. In the hut are the Vietnamese Colonel and two of his men. Also, in the hut are General Fulbright and My Lin. Fulbright is tied in a chair and the Colonel is in the process of questioning him. My Lin is not a prisoner, but an interested third party who hates the United States as much as Colonel Soo.

The team then bursts into the hut, knocking out the two guards, Colonel Soo and My Lin. Hannibal and BA grab Fulbright and head for the door. But, before they can get out of the hut, a helicopter shows up and unloads more troops. They immediately start firing at the team. Hannibal and the rest of the guys return fire. In the middle of all of this one of the unconscious guards on the floor of the hut starts to comes around.

Hannibal and B.A. help Fulbright out the door of the hut and start to work their way across the river to the other side. Face and Murdock go after the helicopter. After taking over the helicopter they land it back on the side of the river and wait for Hannibal and B.A. to get there with Fulbright. As they get to the side of the helicopter Colonel Soo takes aim at Fulbright. In the middle of this, the woozy guard gets up and stumbles into Colonel Soo while he is aiming his pistol at General Fulbright, throwing off his aim just enough for him to miss Fulbright. The bullet instead hits Hannibal in the shoulder. Hannibal cries out in pain and surprise, but still manages to push Fulbright into the chopper with B.A. and climbs in himself while continuing to fire at the oncoming troops on the other side of the river. Right before the chopper takes off, Hannibal launches a grenade from the launcher on his M-16, completely destroying it.

"Hannibal, you all right man," asks B.A. from the other side of the chopper. Right now, he is not too concerned about flying as getting away from the Vietnamese troops and now worried because Hannibal had been shot. "Not bad B.A., we can take care of it when we get back to the plane, get in the air and out of here. How's Fulbright?"

"I'm fine Smith, I just don't look all that hot. Thanks for coming back and getting me out. But that shoulder of yours looks terrible. You sure you're alright? That shoulder is bleeding pretty badly."

"I'm fine. Well, we had to come back. We couldn't leave a girl without the father, now could we? Besides now that we have you convinced that we're innocent we couldn't just leave you." quipped Hannibal. "Now that we finally have someone on our side. And by the way, General. I never leave anyone behind, General. Hey Murdock how long until we get back to the plane."

Murdock looked over his shoulder from the cockpit. "Just a few more minutes, Colonel. This will be my fastest pre flight and takeoff in history. We have to get out of here before the Vietnamese air force gets any of their fighters dispatched." Murdock looked as his best friend with concern. Hannibal's face was quickly paling. "How are you doing? Ya know, Colonel, the general's right, your shoulder does look terrible."

"Bet ya I don't look as bad as Fulbright," replied Hannibal, who could not resist the jibe on the general about the way that his face looks after Colonel Soo got finished with it. "Because General, you look awful."

"Ha, Ha Smith" replied Fulbright with a slight smile on his face as Tia sat beside him holding onto him as hard as she could. Now that she found out the truth about her mother and with all that had happened to her in the last few hours, she wasn't about to let go. She discovered that she really did care about the man who is her father.

A few minutes later Murdock was landing their chopper next to the camouflaged jet. Hannibal yelled out, "Lets get this thing uncovered and get out of here before we have anymore surprises. I've had enough for one day." "Not you Hannibal, you and Fulbright get in the plane. You've done enough for one day," Face ordered. Hannibal looked at his friend with bemused look. Face giving him orders, he thought.

"Murdock, get in there and get this contraption started up. As much as I hate to fly, I don't want another dose of Vietnamese hospitality on this trip" replied B.A.

Face looked at Fulbright, "General, why don't you see what you can do about that bullet wound and get him to sit down before he falls down."

"Right." Fulbright assisted Hannibal into the plane while Murdock started his pre flight while Face and B.A. uncovered the plane.

Fulbright assisted Hannibal to a seat and got him strapped in for takeoff. Hannibal was protesting the whole time about being able to do it for himself. Fulbright then strapped Tia in and got himself strapped into a seat. B.A. and Face piled in as the plane started to roll and strapped themselves in for a pretty hairy takeoff on a very short runway, if you could call it a runway.

Once in the air Face got up and pulled out first aid kit on board the plane and started looking at Hannibal's shoulder. He had Hannibal slide out of his safari jacket and started cutting the sleeve off of his shirt.

"Hannibal, stop squirming will you. I know this hurts. You have to let me look at it and get it cleaned up before it gets infected. You're only going to make matters worse by waiting. This wound doesn't look good and that bullet is still in there. There isn't an exit wound. But, I don't dare try and take it out on this plane. One bad bump and you could lose your arm. You've lost quite a bit of blood already. But as long as we get the wound cleaned out and the bleeding stopped, you should be OK until we get back to the states."

Hannibal finally relented. The arm hurt just to much. After Face got the wound cleaned up, he got Hannibal to lay down and relax while he turned his attention to the General and started to clean up his face where he had been beaten. It was already starting to turn a wonderful shade of purple.

"How is he?" Fulbright asked while looking at Hannibal.

"Well, he's lost quite a lot of blood while we were trying to get back to the plane and the bullet is still in there. I can't take it out. But I got the bleeding stopped and as long as we keep him still and comfortable, I think he'll be OK until we get home and get him to a doctor. Maggie is going to kill us for this. She already complains that, except for Hannibal, about the only time we come to see her is when somebody is hurt,'' replied Face. "Well, I guess she's right."

"Who's Maggie," asked Fulbright?

"Just a friend, General, just a friend." Hannibal replied quietly from the other side of the plane. Fulbright looked at him and could tell from the look in his eyes that he was quite a bit of pain.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Smith. It's going to be a long trip back. Oh yeah, by the way. Just thought that I would tell you. You and your men are good soldiers and it was nice for a change to be on the same side. And I do believe that you and your men are innocent and when we get back I intend to look into it and find out where that order came from. That is my promise to you for helping me find my daughter. All you did is what any good soldier would do, including me, follow your orders. I think that it's crying shame that for all of these years, the real guilty party has gotten off scott free for this while you've been left to take the blame. But no more. That's if I don't wind up in the stockade, along with the rest of you for this little escapade. But if I do, at least it was worth it," said Fulbright while he was looking at Tia sitting beside him.

"Don't worry about that General, the Vietnamese government isn't going to say anything. It would be embarrassing to them that five Americans got into their country unnoticed and escaped from under their noses. Besides, they don't know who we were and never will," replied Face. "All you have to answer for is this plane and it's being returned anyway."

The flight back was pretty uneventful. After the stopping Manila to get fuel for the plane, they headed for the U.S. and landed several hours later just outside of Los Angeles at Van Nuys. They were all standing together on the tarmac deciding what to do. Murdock was supporting Hannibal.

"Well, Smith this is where we part company and I do intend to look into the facts surrounding you and your men. Maybe I can find something to clear you. I do owe you that much for helping me find Tia and saving my life. If I do find something, how will I get a hold of you?"

Hannibal stepped forward and with his left hand handed Fulbright a piece of paper with a phone number printed on it. "Just call this number and leave yours. We'll get back with you."

And with that he then put out his left hand towards the general since his right arm was in a makeshift sling and Fulbright took it. Between the two men, it was a meaning of trust and trust was not something that Hannibal Smith gave lightly. With that gesture, they parted company.

"Hannibal, B.A. and I are going to get the van. Murdock, why don't you grab one of those choppers and take Hannibal to Maggie in Bad Rock and we'll meet you there in a couple of hours. It would be a whole lot more comfortable for Hannibal and quicker than a bumpy car ride."

"Sounds like a plan, muchachos. See ya there. Come on Colonel," Murdock replied as he headed over to a couple of helicopters parked on the strip with Hannibal, one arm across Hannibal's shoulders, supporting some of his weight. He kept an eye on the shaky Colonel on the way to the helicopter.

Murdock and Hannibal arrived in Bad Rock at about 2:30am after landing the chopper just south of town and borrowing a jeep from a local farm. Murdock helped Hannibal up the walk and started banging on Maggie's door.

"Hey Doc, wake up in there, will ya. It's an emergency!"

Maggie opened the door and looked out. What she saw on her porch was Murdock and Hannibal standing there. She noticed immediately that Hannibal's arm was in a sling and had blood all over his jacket. She quickly led them both inside.

"OK, what happened? About the only time you guys come to see me is when one of you is hurt." She and Murdock helped Hannibal back to the surgery. Murdock helped him sit on the exam table. Maggie helped him off with his jacket and started removing the bandages to look at the wound.

"This is a bullet wound," she replied to no one in particular.

"No kidding, doc," Hannibal drawled. His face was full of pain. Maggie had Murdock help Hannibal lay down on the table on his stomach. After he was still she started cutting off his blue shirt.

"OK, out Murdock. You can tell me what happened later. Right now, I have a patient to take care of." She then chased Murdock out of the room and shut the door.

A couple of hours later Maggie came out wiping her hands. Murdock got up from his chair with a very concerned look on his face. "How's the Colonel," he asked.

"Well, he's lost a lot of blood. I got the bullet out and closed the wound. He's asleep right now. I've sedated him. When he wakes up later we can move him into one of the rooms where he'll be more comfortable, but not right now. I need to keep him still for a while. He's going to probably be a little groggy for at least the next day or two. He won't have use of his arm for at least two weeks. It'll have to be kept in a sling. The shoulder is pretty torn up. But, with rest, he's going to be fine. OK, NOW WHAT HAPPENED!"

Murdock looked at her and said, "Well, Doc. It's a real long story. The guys will be here in a few hours. They went to pick up the van and are driving in. You know how B.A. hates to fly. Anyway, I'm tired and I know you are to. Can we talk about this in the morning when the guys get here and Hannibal's awake?" She looked at Murdock, seeing his exhaustion. "Yeah, sure. You look like you can use some rest. I'm going to stay up and keep an eye on Hannibal, just to be on the safe side. Why don't you go lie down in the other room and get some sleep."

"Thanks, Doc." Murdock went and laid down on the couch and was soon fast asleep. Maggie grabbed a light blanket to put over him and went back in the other room to keep an eye on Hannibal.

A couple of hours later B.A. and Face arrived at the house. They came in with worried looks on their faces. Maggie came out of the other room. "Will you two please stop making so much noise and be quiet. You sound like a herd of rampaging elephants coming in here like that. Hannibal's going to be OK, he's asleep right now and if you wake him up I'm going to be MAD. He is just going to have to take it easy for the next couple of weeks so his shoulder will heal. Now why don't you two bed down like Murdock and get some sleep. You both look like you could use it."

B.A. and Face looked at each other with very confused looks on their faces. Maggie walked over, took Faces' hand and led them to one of the bedrooms off the front room and pointed at the beds.

"You heard what I said. NOW. That's an order, you two." She turned around and walked out of the room. Face closed the door.

Fulbright went to the nearest pay phone and called into the base office to come and pick him up in Van Nuys. While sitting there with Tia he began to wonder on how he was going to explain the events of the previous few days. What happened with himself and The A-Team and who the girl with him was. Why was life so complicated. He decided that telling the whole truth was probably the best thing for himself and for Colonel Smith and him men. He didn't want them getting a kidnapping charge added, on top of everything else against them, because they were helping him.

He was going to have to take his lumps on the deal. The whole trip was his idea in the first place and he had sought Smith and his men out. But none of it could be "official" because that would go in the records and he didn't think that the State department would go for that. All in all, anything that they did to him would be worth it. He now had a family. A daughter that he had to take care of. He thought about Smith and how that was something that he had never been able to have. A family. He was getting to dislike this whole mess, more and more. Smith and his men hadn't deserved what they had gotten. They served their country like good soldiers and were then abandoned by it for following orders.

They would have to wait about a hour for a car to arrive from the base to pick them up. It was going to be a long morning he thought as he looked at his watch in the semi-darkness. It was only about 3 am, but he had a lot of explaining to do. But, as Peck had stated in the plane on the way back, nobody in the Vietnamese government was going to say anything, so it would all probably be 'swept under the rug' so to speak. At least that is what he hoped would happen. If he managed to get out of this with his rank intact, he fully intended to keep his promise to Smith and look into the records himself and to see if he could find anything that would prove their side of the story. That meant going to Washington and going though the Pentagon files. But that did not matter because he had the rank and the clearance to do just that, if he managed to keep it that is.

He wondered to himself what had really convinced him that Hannibal Smith and his men had been telling the truth all along. Was it the fact that they even agreed to go with him at all? Was it that they were willing to take the wrap at the airfield by "kidnapping" him? Was it that they went ahead and helped him even after they found out that he lied to them? Was it that they came back for him, risking their lives in the process. He couldn't decide himself, was it all of that put together or was it something else. Something that he could not put his finger on.

Ever since meeting Hannibal Smith on something other than an adversarial basis, he had discovered that he kind of liked Smith. He had a different way of looking at the world. But the one thing that Fulbright could now tell was that Smith was a patriot and as loyal to his country as anybody could be. No matter how much their country had turned is back on them, they never turned their back on their country and maybe this is why he believed in their innocence. But even though he now believed it, he had to prove it and that was going to be a whole another matter indeed. The sound of a car pulling up pulled him from his thoughts. A man in an army Sgt.'s uniform got out and opened the door for them.

"Let's go meet the world, Tia." he said to his daughter as they got up from the bench that they were sitting on. "You are about to be a princess in a world full of dragons. Army ones. " He helped her into the car and the Sgt. shut the door, climbed into the driver's side and they left for the base.

Two weeks passed rather quickly. The team was taking it easy at Maggie's house. They were staying out of sight until all the excitement around them and Fulbright cooled down. Maggie was keeping a pretty good hold on Hannibal so his shoulder would heal properly. That in itself was a full-time job. They had hid their stolen helicopter in a barn just north of town. They wanted to keep the option of a quick getaway in case the army 'fell on them' from out of nowhere. Murdock was keeping himself occupied watching TV and pestering B.A., who was working on his van. He wanted it in tiptop shape, also for a quick getaway in case it was needed. Never hurts to have two ways out, he thought. Besides he didn't want to fly if he could help it. Face was working on trying to get a date with a couple of the local girls. Hannibal and Maggie were off somewhere by themselves, passing the time away together. Hannibal was talking out his feelings with her about the trip back to 'Nam in private.

Fulbright did manage to get out of his predicament. He explained to his commanding officer on why he went to the A-Team and asked for their help. He could not go through official channels to get his daughter out. She would have been killed. They understood that. They all had families of their own. There was no "official record" of the incident and the Vietnamese government was not saying anything. There was nothing much that they could do to him. They did take him off the detail trying to capture The A-Team, however, which suited him just fine. He went back to Washington and got Tia set up in a school in which she could learn about her new country. He went back to the Pentagon and started his quest for any records about the A-Team.

While he was in Washington, Fulbright was going through with his promise to himself and Smith and his men. He was looking for answers. Answers to some very old questions. He had come across some very interesting papers in his search. He had started by looking for the officer that gave Morrison his orders. He knew that Morrison was not the one that came up with the plan to rob the Bank of Hanoi. It had to have come from higher up. Morrison was not a smart enough officer to come up with that kind of a plan. He had come across a name in his search. A general by the name of Hunt Stockwell. This guy had something to do with the whole deal. He had also come across some papers indicating that the CIA was involved somehow.

He had also found out that Morrison's aide Captain Josh Curtis was not clean by any standards. He was today wanted by several countries for international gun smuggling and that some of the Interpol accounts that Fulbright had come across went all the way back to when Curtis was stationed in Vietnam. Somehow he was connected to all of this. The more that he looked, the more that he found that the A-Team were just the fall guys in all this. They had just did what they had said all along. They followed their orders. Quite by accident he came across a file that had been put in the wrong place. Some file clerk had put it in with a bunch of old reports on troop movements. Inside the file were several correspondences between Stockwell and Morrison outlining the mission to rob the bank of Hanoi.

The plan called for Smith's team to bring the money back to Morrison, who would then give it to Stockwell. Stockwell was a front man for the CIA. They wanted to use it to finance operations that the government wouldn't sanction. This way the money was untraceable and the men who carried out the mission would take the fall. This was exactly what Fulbright had been looking for. Proof that the mission had come from higher up and the money was to be used for some other purpose. Showing that Smith was just following the orders given to him by his commanding officer.

When he had everything compiled that he had come across he left the records area of the Pentagon and headed for the Army JAG office. He knew what he had to do from there. He had to get the proceedings started to get Smith and his men cleared. It was an old case, so there was going to have to be a hearing on it, if only a formality. The first thing was to get the evidence he had found filed with JAG. That way, once it had been filed, no one could alter it.

Hannibal and Maggie were having lunch in a small diner on the outskirts of Bad Rock. A few minutes later B.A., Murdock and Face came in.

"What do you make of that?"

"Looks like Hannibal and Maggie might want to be alone. Look at the way they're looking at each other. Makes you wonder what they are thinking about, doesn't it."

"Oh, hush Murdock." Face stated quietly so Hannibal couldn't hear.

"Hey ya colonel." Murdock yelled out across the diner.

"Hi ya guys. Come sit down and have some lunch. What's up?"

"Got a message from Fulbright. He wants to meet with us. Says he has something that he wants to talk to us about. We gave him a location to meet at 4pm about 10 miles from here." Face informed Hannibal.

"Alright, we had better head out there and check out the area. I don't want any surprises. I'm still not sure that I totally trust Fulbright, yet. He chased us for too long for that. And after what I did to him at that roast, I'm not sure if I'd trust me either. Maggie, we'll be back later. I promise." Hannibal told her as he got up to head out with the rest of the team. "OK, but you four had better stay out of trouble. The last thing you what is for the military to figure out where the four of you are." Maggie said as she gave Hannibal a very focused stare. Hannibal looked back at her with his best 'I'm innocent' look.

"Who us, we try to avoid trouble."

"Yeah, right," Maggie replied "I know better than that. You all just be careful, will ya, you big galoot. I just got finished patching you up. And I know that shoulder of yours is still very sore. I don't what to have to do it again."

All four of them looked at her with their best innocent looks.

"Hey you guys, you heard what I said. Just be careful, huh."

"Hey you worry wort, we're always careful. Sometimes things just get in the way," Hannibal replied as he took a cigar out of his pocket, nipped off the end with his teeth and lit it. He had a impish gleam in his eye and they all knew what that meant. B.A. muttered to himself "Hannibal's on the jazz, man, he's on the jazz. Look out below."

Maggie took one look at Hannibal that thought to herself "Oh no, there he goes again." With that she walked out and went back to the office, not sure about what was about to happen.

Fulbright knew that what he had learned from the files, much of it would never be released to the public. Too many people in the government would be implicated in the cover-up. He then headed to the airport to catch a plane for California.

After he arrived in California, Fulbright contacted the phone number that Smith had given him a few weeks earlier. He later received a call back on when to meet with the team.

Fulbright met with Hannibal and the guys on a ridge overlooking a small wooded valley. Hannibal wanted the high ground in case it was a trap. To see if anybody was tailing Fulbright.

"Well, Fulbright." Hannibal asked. "What did you find."

Fulbright went on to explain about the misplaced files and what he had learned about Stockwell and the CIA and what they wanted to do with the money. The guys looked at Fulbright in a state of shock. They had never guessed that the CIA might be involved with all of this. Hannibal started getting very angry at the fact the plan the whole time was for them to take the fall.

"Doesn't that just take the cake. We were set-up to take the fall for this thing from the beginning. OK, Fulbright. What now?"

"I've already set up with JAG for a hearing on this. Talked to the Judge Advocate General, General Donovan, personally this morning about it. He is not happy about all of this, that I can tell you. These guys made a mockery of JAG and the military court system. He has already started a full investigation into who was in charge of your case in '72 and how it got as far as it did. It should have never gone this far."

"We could've told you that, Fulbright. But, thanks for your help. Got anyplace to stay tonight?"

"No, not yet."

"OK, come with us. That way we can talk some more. You asked who Maggie was a couple a weeks ago. High time you met her. She's probably starting to get really worried."

"Speakin' of a couple of weeks ago. How's the shoulder, Smith?"

"Still sore, but OK."

Hannibal led Fulbright over to the van and climbed in, leaving Murdock to follow in Fulbright's car.

That night they talked long into the night, discussing all the options that they had. Hannibal decided that the best thing for them to do was to go to Washington and turn themselves into the Judge Advocate General himself. It was safer that way.

So, early the next morning, they packed their bags and headed for the Fort Shafer airfield to board the plane that Fulbright had made arrangements for. Maggie insisted on going with them and Hannibal, as hard as tried couldn't persuade her not to go. Maggie was so determined to go with him and be by his side, no matter what the consequences that Hannibal finally relented. In his heart Hannibal was glad that she was going. He wanted her by his side. Maybe, he thought, just maybe one of these days I can ask her. He had the ring safely with him, in its little black velvet box, just in case.

When they arrived in Washington, they headed directly for the Army JAG headquarters to turn themselves in. Hannibal met with the Judge Advocate General in private to see what their options were.

Because of the facts that Fulbright have already turned into him, along with the fact that Hannibal and the team turned themselves in on their own, he took Hannibal at his word that they would remain available. He allowed them to remain free and to leave their whereabouts with him.

So, for the next two weeks while the arrangements were being made for the trial, the team had the run of the city. Fulbright had gotten the team of the best private lawyer in the country to represent them in the trial. Mr. Mark Davis. The man hadn't lost a case in the last three years. Even though Fulbright knew that Smith and his men were supposed to be cleared at the hearing, it didn't hurt to be prepared, just in case. It was something that he learned from Smith. The man who always had a plan. It was the least he could do to repay them for saving his life and getting his daughter out of Vietnam alive.

One of the first things that Hannibal did was to take Maggie and go to Arlington National Cemetery to visit the graves of his parents, buried side by side. He wanted to introduce the woman he loved to them. Maggie watched him as he walked up to the graves and saluted the grave of his father. After he released the salute he stepped back and Maggie came to his side and helped him to place flowers on both of the graves.

"Dad, Mom. Sorry I haven't been to visit you in a while. Things have been kinda hectic. I wanted to show you the woman that I love." Hannibal took Maggie's left hand in his right and knelt down on one knee in front of her and the headstones of his parents. "Maggie Sullivan, will you marry me? I love you so much. I know this is not the most romantic place in the world, but I really can't think of a place more appropriate right now."

Maggie, a smile on her face and tears flowing down her cheeks. "Hannibal, it's perfect. Yes. My dear Hannibal. I'll marry you."

A huge smile spread across his handsome features as he took the small, black velvet box out of his pocket and opened it up to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. He took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger.

Maggie looked at Hannibal as he placed the ring on her finger. "Dr. Maggie Smith. Gee, Hannibal, that has a nice ring to it. OK Colonel, what now? She was up to teasing Hannibal, since this was such an unexpected turn of events.

"Well, Maggie. Depends. Do you want to wait till after this hearing is over or get married right away?"

"Let's wait till after, Hannibal. Do everything right. Invite all of our friends. Have a good, old fashioned Army wedding."

"That's what I thought you would say. Wait! An old, fashioned ARMY wedding. Do you really think that they'll let us stay in? It's fine by me. Do you get the same feeling about this that I do. That General Donovan wouldn't have let us leave if he thought we'd be convicted."

"That's the impression that I get too, Hannibal."

"Guess we'll see what happens, my love."

Later that same day, Hannibal and Maggie met the rest of the guys and made the trek to finally see the Vietnam Memorial Wall for the first time. They all looked upon that wall of black granite, shining in the afternoon sun, remembering all the friends that they lost during the war. It seemed that events were finally turning their way.

When the day of the hearing finally arrived, Hannibal and the team entered the courtroom with a confident feeling, but in the back of their minds they were ready for anything that not go in their favor. Their lawyer, with all the evidence that Fulbright provided didn't have any trouble with the prosecutor. He was just going through the motions. The hearing was just a formality that the team had to go through to finally be free.

Finally the board recessed to the back to go over the evidence and come up with their decision. It only took an hour for them to do so. When they returned they handed their decision to the preceding judge who read it and handed it back to them.

"Would the accused please rise," he ordered. "What does the panel find?"

The president of the panel rose and began to speak.

"Colonel Smith, Lt. Peck, Sgt. Baracus. It is my duty as president of this court to inform you that in closed session and on secret ballot all of the members present concur in finding you not guilty. It is the recommendation of this court that your records be cleared and that you be returned to active service at rank with the full rights and privileges thereof. That you be given a month at full pay to make your decision on whether or not you wish to say within the realm of the United States Army or be given full honorable discharges. Also that all time since 1972 be added to your records as time in service and you be given all back pay as earned since that date. We also recommend that the United States Army and the United States government give you all a full public apology." He then paused for a beat and added, "Welcome home".

A cheer went up from the back of the courtroom after the verdict was read. There were many people in attendance of the trial that the team had helped over the years. Hannibal looked at the others and thought to himself 'we're finally free. It's finally over'. There were handshakes all around from everybody in the courtroom. From the judge to the prosecutor. Hannibal thought his arm was going to fall off before it was all through. He thanked General Fulbright for his help and their lawyer Mark Davis for all of his hard work and effort on the part of the team. Hannibal spied a familiar face in the crowd. It was Amy Allen.

"I guess you'll want an exclusive, right Allen" Hannibal quipped at Amy. A huge smile on his face.

"Sure Hannibal, but that can come later. It's your time to celebrate right now."

"By the way Allen, want to come to a wedding?"

"WEDDING! You proposed to Maggie?"

"Sure did! Want to come? I'm sure Maggie would want you to be one of her bridesmaids."

"Just let me know the date, Hannibal. I'll bring my camera and shoot the wedding pictures for you too." Amy smiled at him. "Just like I did in Texas."

Hannibal grinned, catching the jibe. "Thanks Amy."

With that Amy lost herself in the crowd. Hannibal then looked around as a hand settled on his shoulder. It was Maggie Sullivan. "Well, you big galoot. Ready to take that walk down the aisle?" She asked with a wicked gleam in her brown eyes. Hannibal looked at her with a smile on his face.

"Anything you want now Maggie. How about we go home for good and plan our wedding."

"Sounds good to me. After your party," she added indicating General Fulbright with her thumb, who was busy shaking hands with the other members of the team. Hannibal took Maggie's hand. After the congratulations were over they all headed outside of the building.

Hannibal looked up at the American flag flying overhead. He came to attention and saluted the flag. The others, taking his lead did so as well. They were finally free. Amy walked out of the building behind the team and snapped a picture of them saluting the flag with the sun going down in the distance. That picture made the front page of every major in the country with the caption, which was Hannibal's favorite saying - I love it when a plan comes together.