To the Wire

He should have known better of course. When it came to BA and children in danger, words like 'wait' and 'think' were like red rags to a bull. He wasn't entirely sure what he expected, but he would admit that the rock solid fist to his gut, followed immediately by a blow to his jaw, did take him by surprise.

He went down like a tonne of bricks, his usual suavity rather deserting him as all of the air exited his lungs at speed. Oooowwwww.

Mostly, his mind was occupied with breathing, but he was able to spare a thought for the explosive pain in his head and jaw, followed by some concern for what had transpired just after he was dropped to the ground. Murdock, bless him, had simultaneously yelled at BA and tried to pull him away, only to be shoved hard enough in the chest to send him to the floor too.

What was worrying, was that a large hand had clamped onto Face's bicep, yanking him onto his back. Which, as he had curled up in a very tight ball to try to drag air into his lungs, he was sure looked utterly ridiculous. He was only crouched on his back like an upturned beetle for a second, before BA blurred into view, leaning over him, fist raised.

Uh oh. Face felt his eyes widening. He had been on the receiving end of more punches than he felt entirely just, but he knew if BA actually hit him at this proximity with his head already on the ground, he would certainly knock him out cold and might very feasibly cause him a serious head injury. Effectively paralysed by the blow to his gut, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Hannibal is going to kill me. He thought to himself through a wave of dizzy alarm. They were going to miss the check in time and Hannibal would blame him. More likely, he reasoned, he would assume something had gone wrong and come looking for them.

All this flashed through his mind in a split second as he waited for an impact that never came. BA gave a snarl of disgust, before lowering his arm. He was up and gone before Face could get a word out.

He was still gasping for breath, still not quite able to speak as he dragged himself to his knees. Murdock was at his side, the sound of Face's Corvette roaring away behind him, by the time he got a single word out.

"Murdock." He croaked. "Need to find...car...Get to Hannibal."

"Can you stand?" Murdock asked, focused and serious, ducking to look into Face's eyes and find out whether he was able to get up.

Instead of answering, using up breath he did not have to spare, Face grabbed Murdock's shoulder and dragged himself to his feet, letting out a groan as he did.

"Yeah. But I don't think I can scam much... Murdock, find a car."

"We're gonna steal it?"

"Borrow." Face corrected. "...For a good cause."

Murdock nodded, green eyes showing concern.
"Alright, but I'm driving. No offence Faceman but you look like you're gonna hurl."

"Oh none taken." Face sniped back. "Here I was worrying I looked like I'd been punched by 250lbs of pure testosterone."

"That too."

The quiet tone let Face know Murdock was struggling to believe BA's actions. Why it would surprise either of them, knowing his quick temper and passion for children's protection, but it did.

The acquisition of a car could have been smoother, but Face wasn't complaining. Murdock wasn't meant to be the supplies guy and if anything, the delay gave him a chance to get his breath back.

It also, however, made them late.

"Pull in, gotta call Hannibal." Face instructed as a gas station appeared ahead. It was somewhat less than ideal that they had to stop just after stealing a car, but then again, astonishing boldness had been at the base of many of his best scams.

Hannibal's voice answered with a made up restaurant name and a slow service warning, which Face ignored in favour of getting straight to the point.

"We've got a problem. Black Ball 3."

There was a split second pause.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, that's why I said Black Ball!" Face snapped waspishly.

"You two alright?" Hannibal asked.

Face rubbed his jaw with his free hand absently.
"For now, but if we don't get to you know who before he does our charges are gonna get a lot more serious than bank robbery."

"Where are you now?" Hannibal asked, not struggling with the vagueness of Face's explanation.

"About ten minutes out."

"Alright. Keep coming. I'll make some calls. Oh and Face?" He broke radio code completely. "Get me a helicopter on the way would you?"

"Hannib-" Face slammed the phone back into its holder as Hannibal cut the line.

"Well that is perfect."

He leaned forward to look out of the front window, scanning their surroundings.
"Murdock, take the next left, get us into the woods."

"Face, how're you gonna get us a helicopter, you look like-"

"Yes, thank you, Murdock, I got it." Face cut him off with a bitter scowl.

"Contrary to popular opinion, it's not just a pretty face that gets me what we need." Which was fortunate, as the limited movement of his jaw let him know he probably didn't have one of those for the time being.

"Ah, perfect." He spotted a dense patch of woodland up ahead and pointed Murdock towards it.

The stolen car was having a really bad day. Murdock was doing an admirable job driving it in the woods, but there was no avoiding the beating it took on the ride through the trees. They needed somewhere to park which had enough room for the car but was concealed from the road.

The look on Murdock's face asked many questions without him needing to say a word. Chief amongst them, were what part did this little venture play in getting back to the safe house as Hannibal had instructed? How, exactly, was Face planning on getting them a helicopter in the middle of a wood?

Face planned to answer both of those questions, but he preferred to let his art speak for itself. Mostly, because he was certain if he tried to explain before he acted, Murdock would think that more than one of them was insane.

Picking up the car phone, Face dialled a number and cleared his throat.

A voice answered almost immediately. 'Rydale police department, what is your emergency?'

"Yes...hello?" Face spoke in a stuttering, high pitched voice that had Murdock staring. "I need...help...I'm stuck, there's a tree...I think it's gonna fall on me."

'Sir, please stay calm, I need you to tell me where you are.'

"The woods. I was lost, there was a tree falling and my leg is stuck but there's another one...it's huge and it's leaning...Oh God, you gotta help me-" He gasped and hung up.

"Pull up once we're under cover." He told Murdock.

Murdock did as instructed, picking his way into tree cover and finding a small canopy-covered spot where they could stop unseen. They'd left an obvious trail, but Face didn't seem concerned by that. Neither did Murdock.

"Face, did you just prank call emergency services?" He asked instead.

Face grimaced, forced to admit at least to himself, that this was somewhat beyond his usual parameters for acceptable scrounging. Still, needs must.
"It's not a prank, it's a real emergency." Face reasoned. "Just not the one I told them about."

Murdock was looking out of the windows, scanning for anyone around. He didn't argue with Face's rather spurious defence, just pointed out a flaw.
"Small towns like this don't have their own air ambulance service." He spoke. "They'll have a deal with the nearest private chopper. Most likely a park ranger."

"Exactly." Face replied as he removed the fascia from the car radio and began fiddling with the dials using the smallest of his lock picks.

"What's the radio for?" Murdock asked, watching him work. Face was hardly the mechanics expert of the group, but they were outta luck of that front.

"I'm tuning it to the emergency frequency." Face answered while he twiddled. Discordant noise was all he was getting from the radio.

Murdock shot him an alarmed look, but he shook his head, clarifying quickly.

"In case they get a real emergency."

Once it was done, occasional voices exchanging details on parking offences in the background, Face called the van.

"Joe's dry cleaning." Hannibal's voice answered again.

"New meeting point." Face told him. "On the east road, turn into the woods about four miles before the garage. You might need to search a bit."

"Why the change?"

Face did not hesitate before replying.
"I'm trapped under a tree in the woods."

"Face-"

Face hung up with a smug grin. Two can play at that game Hannibal. His grin didn't last long, as a pang of protest from his bruised jaw reminded him their current predicament was anything but funny.

The wait for rescue or the arrival of their leader was a subdued one.

Hannibal arrived first.

As he presumably valued his life, he did not attempt to drive BA's van off the road as Murdock had done to the unfortunate borrowed car. Instead, he threaded his way through the woods on foot, until he found the car, accompanied by Face and Murdock perched on the boot.

A quick perusal of the woods and the pair in front of him, set an questioning expression on Hannibal's face. Questioning, with an air of irritation.
"Where's my helicopter?"

Face gave him an utterly forced smile.
"Hi Hannibal, how are you? We're fine thank you for asking."

Hannibal's eyebrow only rose further. Face glanced at his watch.

"Ah. I may have to beg your patience. The tree I'm stuck under awaiting certain death will need to hold on a little longer."

"How much longer?"

"Well..."

Through the rustling of the trees behind them, came the distant, yet unmistakable sound of helicopter rotas. Face looked rather smug, Hannibal appreciative, but Murdock looked sceptical, arms folded across his chest.

"That's all very well Faceman, it sounds like a real pretty birdie too, but what exactly is your plan for the poor shmucks who've come to rescue you and are about to have their chopper stolen?"

Hannibal answered before Face could.
"I'm sure we're about to ruin their day, but it can't be helped. We need to catch BA." He spoke gravely. He was grimly serious all of a sudden, all trace of mirth gone and a rarely seen glint of concern had edged into his expression.

The approaching chopper was getting louder as Face shifted, ready to move.
"We need the chopper." He grasped Murdock's shoulder as he jumped off the bonnet.

"But nobody said anything about stealing it."

"Face, I don't mean to labour a well laid point, but you aint scamming anybody looking like that." Murdock told him. Blunt, though it was, it was not without an amount of sympathy.

Face looked to Hannibal, who shrugged in unmistakable agreement.
"Unbelievable." Face moaned. He would have gone on, but the chopper was coming to land in a clearing not twenty metres from their position and the noise would have drowned him out.

Without waiting to see whether the other two followed, Face took off through the trees.

It was a simple equation to a mathematical mind, which nobody would deny Face had. Hannibal was right, they had to catch up with BA. If he caught Dunning he'd kill him. No questions, no half measures, just a death and the making of good man into a murderer. Face couldn't honestly say he blamed him, but that wasn't who they were. He didn't want to imagine BA trying to live with it anymore than he wanted to imagine it happening.

They had to catch him and they had no other way of doing it than by helicopter. This helicopter, specifically, he thought as he ran towards the cockpit. Because he had one option and one option only, he had no questions as to whether he would succeed.

The ugly and rather painful bruise on his jaw was not part of the equation.

The EMTs who jumped out of the back of the chopper looked unmistakably bemused at his approach.

"WE GOT A CALL SAYING SOMEONE WAS TRAPPED!" The first he reached yelled at him. With the rotas still turning, yelling was the only option.

"THAT WAS ME." Face yelled back.

The three men looked baffled, taking in his dishevelled appearance and trying to work out if they'd had a wasted journey.

"ARE YOU HURT?" The first asked.

"I'M ALRIGHT!" Face prepared to launch his acquisition. "MY NAME IS TEMPLETON PECK, I'M A MEMBER OF THE A-TEAM."

Hannibal and Murdock were behind him, he could feel their eyes boring holes into him as he revealed his identity to an official agency.

"WE'RE WANTED CRIMINALS, BUT THIS IS A REAL EMERGENCY. A MAN'S LIFE AND A GROUP OF CHILDREN ARE IN SERIOUS DANGER."

The EMT's were looking at each other, looking at him, slowly shifting their positions into threat mode, probably without their notice. Face ignored all of this. They were right to be alarmed, right to feel threatened. For the moment, they were silent as they absorbed his words. It was this that Face needed. They didn't need to be happy about it or to take it well. They just needed to be quiet for long enough for him to finish his plan.

"WE NEED TO GET TO PABLO RIDGE, RIGHT NOW!"

Finally, as he stated his purpose, one of the three found something to say.

"YOU'RE IN THE A-TEAM?!"

Well, it was a start. They knew the name, that ought to work in Face's favour, even if it put them in more danger.

"YES!" He yelled right back. His voice was getting a little raw. He gestured behind him, where he had become aware Hannibal and Murdock had edged closer. "THIS IS HANNIBAL SMITH. THIS IS OUR FRIEND HM, HE'S A PILOT."

Face allowed Hannibal's name and a moment of awe to provide the final pause he needed.

"I NEED YOU GUYS TO TAKE THAT CAR-" He pointed to the dented, stolen car. "DRIVE IT BACK TO TOWN. I NEED YOUR PILOT TO COME WITH US. WHEN WE GET TO PABLO RIDGE, YOU DROP US OFF AND YOU COME BACK. THEN, IF YOU CHOOSE TO TELL THE POLICE WHERE WE ARE, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO CLAIM THE REWARD, BUT WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!"

The EMT's were shaking their heads, worry and fear written all over their faces. "WHAT IF WE GET A REAL EMERGENCY CALL?!"

Face almost laughed in relief. They were faced with two notorious criminals trying to hijack their helicopter and they weren't worried about anything more than the ability to do their jobs. The A-Team could respect that.

"THEN YOU PUT US DOWN AND YOU COME BACK. BUT RIGHT NOW, THIS IS THE ONLY REAL EMERGENCY YOU HAVE ANY POWER IN WHATSOEVER. PLEASE, HELP US."

Two minutes later, the car was on it's way to be handed in to local police, the helicopter pilot was still in the chopper, sitting next to Murdock who grinned from ear to ear as he got the bird in the air.

Hannibal and Face sat in the back. Focused, worried, but a twinkle of amusement in Hannibal's eyes, faint smugness in Face's. Hannibal moved to shout in Face's ear, as the only way to make himself heard.

"Nice, Face!"

Face gave a nod of acknowledgement, smugness disappearing as always when faced with a genuine compliment. He shook his head.
"We'll make it. What happens then is what worries me!"

Hannibal grimly concurred. It was hardly the first time Face had pulled off a miraculous acquisition. It was, however, the first time they'd used a black ball code on BA. Black Ball 4 was not uncommon, Murdock had a tendency to wander off. Black Ball 2 had been known to happen, what with Face's wandering eye. But BA, he never disappeared on them. He was certainly never deliberately AWOL. He was hot tempered and grouchy as hell, but he was reliable. Always.

"Down there!" Murdock's shout from the front of the chopper came through on Face and Hannibal's earphones.

They'd been in flight for twenty minutes, they were drawing near Pablo Ridge and Murdock had guided the pilot to put the chopper above the main road. Sure enough, down below them, a streak of white and red could be seen throwing up clouds of dust as it hurtled towards the town.

"Aawwhh. I just had it resprayed." Face moaned, wincing at the thought of the grit pelting his car all the way.

"Set us down as close to the Casino as possible." Hannibal spoke over him, ignoring his complaints.

"I can get you right on top of it! They've got a helipad."

"That might give the game away a little Muchacho." Murdock pointed out.

Face was inclined to agree it might indeed, but Hannibal was already shaking his head. He did not look pleased.
"No choice. There are too many buildings around, if we land in the nearest clear area BA will beat us there." He waved to the pilot. "Do it, put us down on the roof!"

Well, it was certainly going in through the front door. Nobody could argue they were being direct. And given that on this occasion they'd come to save the villain of the story, he was just going to have to suck it up.

"Murdock, come with me, we're gonna head off BA. Face, go find Dunning, in case BA gets passed us."

Face tried not to grimace as he nodded once and took off at a run. Find him and do what exactly? Warn him? Or disarm him? They didn't want BA to kill him, scum or not, but a man capable of exploiting children as he did was certainly capable of murder in self defence. Still, he spared a thought for Hannibal and Murdock, who certainly had the more difficult task of the two.

"Drop it pretty boy."

Face grinned. At least Dunning was predictable. It could have taken him an age to find him in the Casino, but now that his favourite goons had 'caught' one of the team, Dunning would come to him instead. He dutifully dropped his gun. Or at least, he dropped the one he'd been holding. He also looked suitably chagrined when the goon patted him down and found the one under his shirt, the one in his boot and the one strapped to his calf.

The one taped between his shoulder blades remained in his possession. His impression of a man caught unawares and left defenceless must have been pretty good, because the goon's expression was mightily smug.

"Aww." He dropped on heavy hand on Face's head and ruffled his hair, almost knocking him over in the process. "Where's your team now huh?"

Good question. Face removed himself from the mocking hand of the insufferably pleased goon even while their thoughts seemed to align rather perfectly. Where were the team? Ideally, they were all together and Hannibal and Murdock were managing to talk sense into BA. That way all Face had to do was wait for Dunning, deliver the alarming news that BA was going to kill him and then slip back to the team at the first possible opportunity so that all four of them could continue with the plan to put Dunning in prison, where he belonged.

The other possibilities were what concerned him. Like that two more of the team had black eyes to match his and BA was getting closer to Dunning, meaning Face was running out of time.

"Listen, I'm here to see one of your clients. He owes me money, you know how gamblers are. But I admit I broke in here so how about you keep those as compensation-" He gestured at his three confiscated guns. "And I'll be on my way."

As he stepped towards the door with an impish smile, a chunky arm blocked his path.
"You think you're pretty smart huh pretty boy?"

He did indeed, think that. He was considering asking his new friend if he knew any other adjectives.

"You're not going anywhere."

Face tried not to roll his eyes at the gun pointing at his head. He backed off and raised his hands, waiting with rapidly waning patience for the final scene to click into place.

"I think Dunning is going to be pretty happy to see you."

There was that word again. Face let his eyes sharpen slightly, jaw setting, as though it was taking effort to look unafraid. The goon smirked as he left and Face tried not to grin. That Dunning would come to him rather than him wasting time searching, that was good. That Dunning might become a little trigger happy on arrival was less good, but worse, was the genuine possibility that the scumbag casino owner might not make it before BA caught him.

He never thought he'd be relieved to see a reprehensible waste of space pointing a gun at him.

"Ah, Dunning, right on time." He commented brightly.

Dunning's response was not so genial.

"You know the more I see of you Peck the more I think the only way to shut you up might really be to just cut to the chase and put a bullet in your brain." He spoke with the soft, calm certainty of a man with real power, unlike his hired thugs. A man who really might do just as he threatened. Who would kill a man without hesitation, as long as it didn't cost him anything.

Face was lucky that bodies were inconvenient. It certainly wasn't finer feelings on Dunning's part which were keeping his trigger finger still at that moment.

He gave an easy shrug.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe you should. But then, you wouldn't have any way of finding out why I'm here." He smiled a brilliant smile. "And I know you're wondering."

Because Dunning was familiar enough with the A-team to know this was way off script. They wanted to shut down his protection racket so that the people of Pablo Ridge would be left alone. Whatever plan they came up with, probably didn't involve one lone team member sneaking into Dunning's casino. And he knew of course, that Face had meant to be caught.

Face let the fake amusement slide from his expression as Dunning raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"We have a problem Dunning."

"We?" Dunning asked, interested, though his gun did not so much as twitch.

"We." Face confirmed. "You personally, and the A-Team as a whole."

"Really." Dunning said dryly.

Admittedly, the fact that the A-team had been hired to stop one of his many dodgy dealings, did mean they had already had a problem. Face did not smile. They were out of time.

"Our usual digging brought up some nastier than usual truths about you." He just about managed to keep his voice level.

"Is that right." Dunning spoke with the bored tone of a man not really asking questions.

"Yeah. As a general rule, we'll stop the bad guys. That's you. Sometimes we turn them in, sometimes we chase them away, but the one thing we never do, is deliberately harm."

Dunning was watching with an odd mix of impatience and curiosity as to where this was going.

"You see we've all seen enough blood to last four lifetimes, but there are some things that do make us see red. Especially BA. Remember him? Now every one of us would happily see you rot in hell, for using children in your screwed up little empire. But BA, he's not going to wait for you to rot. Now the A-team has a rogue member and you have a very short immediate lifespan."

Dunning cocked his gun.
"That all you got to say, Peck? That one of your little gang of boy scouts has a soft spot for kids?"

"That you're gonna die, Dunning. And I could not, honestly care less, except that we're rather fond of our little team and we aren't murderers. So I came with a suggestion. Get on your helicopter and get the hell out of Pablo Ridge, but before you go, tell me where you keep the kids. That way I might be able to persuade BA not to go after you."

One thing was immediately clear, as Face finished speaking. Dunning believed him. He was a liar by trade, but he could be transparent if he needed to be. The fact that he was worried at that moment, was a truth it served him for Dunning to know.

Anger was setting in fast. Dunning was neither stupid enough to pretend not to care, nor smart enough to just be outright alarmed. Instead, his expression darkened and twisted, landing on an ugly forced smirk.
"Is that what happened to your face?"

Well, Face was grateful at least he hadn't said his pretty face. Although he was, obviously, mourning the temporary ruin of his pretty face.

"Yes it is." He replied flatly. "And you know I think BA kinda likes me, deep down. What do you think he'll do to someone he doesn't like, when he's clearly not in the mood for finer feelings?"

"You think you can scare me, Peck?" Dunning growled, finger tightening on the trigger.

Face tried to keep the gun and the owner's finger in his peripheries without looking directly at it. His expression hadn't changed, concern and anger barely controlled. But he could feel sweat prickling at the back of his neck. He was beginning to question the wisdom of risking his own life for this twitchy scumbag.

"I really, really don't care. How cocky you're feeling isn't going to slow him down."

The sound of banging and shouting from somewhere not especially far away, spurred Dunning to action. Before Face could think, Dunning had him by the shirt, spinning him around and driving his gun into his temple, one arm locked around his throat.

"What...exactly… Do you think this will achieve?" Face choked, managing to sound exasperated even as he felt his face growing red.

"Shut up. Anyone who comes in here gets a bullet and you'll be next."

"You've taken a hostage… and then you're gonna shoot whoever comes through the door next...makes perfect sense."

"Shut up."

The shouting was getting closer and the voices were becoming distinct. Hannibal and Murdock were working hard, but they were clearly losing this particular battle. Well, that was why they'd sent Face ahead. He said a quick prayer and sent a sharp elbow into Dunning's ribs, ducking and using his other arm to force the gun upwards in the same instant. His entire body prepared for a shot, maybe into the ceiling, or maybe into Face's brain, but he was poised to keep moving until that moment came.

Dunning grunted in pain and doubled over, no shot fired as Face contorted enough to reach the gun taped to his back.
"Drop it." He ordered breathlessly.

Dunning looked up, eyes widening as he saw Face's gun trained on him, darting to one side as a bang almost directly outside the door let them both know they were out of time. Despite this, Dunning still took a measurable moment to weigh his options. Face watched him with a steady, faintly incredulous gaze. He could try to outdraw Face of course, in which case one or both of them could be shot, but then what was his next play? Hope the murder of one of the team would calm BA's temper?

He dropped the gun and kicked it over to Face.

The confiscated weapon was barely in his hand, before the door behind him almost rocked off it's hinges. Face lunged for the door and braced his back against it, wedging his gun against the door knob to stop it turning.

"BA! Stand down, that's an order!"

"I aint takin' orders right now Hannibal."

"Where are the kids?" Face barked at Dunning, who was flat against the opposite wall.

"I'm not telling you anything." Dunning almost growled, but his wide eyed, white faced stare at the door rather undermined his bravado.

"Are you gonna tell BA instead?" Face spat, grimacing as his back ricocheted off the trembling door frame. He pulled Dunning's gun out and pointed it at him. "I'm going to give you ten seconds to tell me and then get out of that window. I'm not in any way guaranteeing he won't get through before then. Where, are, the kids?"

It was done, in an angry flurry of words, a shattering window and a slightly less than ten second head start. Face attempted to move away from the door but was still knocked flying by it as it swung open, clipping his lower back on the way. BA barrelled into the room, ready to maim.

"Face?" Hannibal asked, relaxing as he saw the broken window. Dunning would be on the roof by now and they had made sure his goons knew to have the helicopter ready. BA was attempting to lever his considerably heavier bulk onto the window frame, but Hannibal paid no attention to this.

Face was still sitting on the floor, propping himself upright on his hands.
"There's a house just outside of the town. I don't think he was lying."

They had surely made themselves clear, Dunning would not get away with continuing to use children in his sordid empire.
"Alright." Hannibal spoke with what very nearly amounted to a shrug.

"Murdock, get the chopper ready. BA, are you gonna help us help these kids or are you gonna keep pointlessly chasing Dunning?"

BA spun around, expression twisted in anger, ready for a fight, but Hannibal hadn't waited to hear his response. Face was busily getting to his feet, while Hannibal had headed back out of the door, barely slowing down as he hooked a hand under Face's upper arm and pulled him the rest of the way up. He was left standing awkwardly beside a furious BA.

Face would never describe himself as foolhardy. Many other things, but not one to rush needlessly into trouble. So while he wanted to ask BA why he looked so angry given what he'd put the rest of the team through in the last few hours, he chose to stay quiet. He chose in fact, to give his best impression of a smile and gesture after Hannibal.

"Shall we?"

BA growled. An actual, out loud growl. But he did as suggested. Face followed after him, easing the cricks out of his back as he walked.

It was, all things considered, not his favourite mission. Apart from the obvious, that he preferred not to be thumped by one of the team around the halfway point, it was a highly un-enjoyable venture. Face had no idea why he was certain Dunning had told them the truth about the kids, but he was. Murdock got the borrowed chopper in the air and they headed towards the house Dunning had told them about.

Everyone was quiet. Not because of BA. They were all thinking about their destination. About a man who encouraged desperate and lonely teenagers to join a world they were not yet old enough to begin to understand. He paid them, he housed them, there was not a court in the land who could connect him to them but there was no question, he was using them. In the process, he would ruin their lives entirely. When they were completely embroiled in his world of gambling, black market dealing, drugs or worse with no way out that did not involve a jail sentence, they might begin to question their decisions to join him. Face felt his stomach churning. An ugly part of himself that wished BA had gotten to Dunning before he had.

But as with every mission, there was a lot more that needed to be done after the team's showdown with the bad guys. They took out the guards on the house which did, as expected, house a dozen angry yet petrified teens. They alerted the sheriff and as many of the locals as they could, in the hope that the doctor, priest, youth workers and so on might be able to put enough pressure on the sheriff not to punish any of the kids for anything they'd done on Dunning's orders. Most, the team had found to their absolute disgust, were too young for that to be an issue.

Finally, they regrouped in the city to return the helicopter and make a plan for delivering Dunning to the authorities. First, they needed evidence of some form of corruption.

"Damn thug deserved it Hannibal. You shoulda let me get him." BA complained, some hours later when the team were in their most recently acquired condo, planning their next move.

BA had calmed down considerably once the kids were in safe hands, which was a relief, but to say he'd shown no signs of regret for his hotheadedness would be an understatement.

"BA, if we hadn't stopped you we would never have known where the kids were." Hannibal said rather shortly. "Now you have a real good reason to think about controlling your temper."

Face did his best to ignore their discussion, which continued, somewhere between complaining at each other and strategic planning as to what to do next. He kept half an ear open for which side of the next step he'd be taking. Get evidence or get Dunning. It would be the best use of his skills to send him on the hunt for evidence. On the other hand, they couldn't really send BA after Dunning.

Hannibal and BA's discussion was going much along the same lines, he noted. They seemed to be leaning towards Hannibal and Murdock going after Dunning, Face and BA going back to casino and having some fun with Dunning's computer.

It made sense. Face had no doubt he could manipulate the software and anything mechanical, BA had that covered. It was, however, rapidly approaching the witching hour and the team had now been on the move for two days straight. Was it possible that Dunning's computer and indeed, Dunning himself, could wait until morning? And Face could have a large helping of coffee and sleep, maybe with a side of Advil?

"Let's eat. Then we'll get going." Hannibal's apparently superhuman enthusiasm for a mission was quick to douse Face's hopes.

There was a groaning amidst the agreements that suggested he wasn't the only one who was tired, but a general shuffling started as decisions as to what they were eating and who was going to get it began. With a dramatic sigh, Face got to his feet.

Woooow headrush. He grabbed the nearest thing to steady himself, which by a stroke of good timing, was Murdock's shoulder. He'd been overly optimistic on the speed of his ascent. He quirked a smile at Murdock and removed his hand, replacing it gingerly against his upper abdomen. His earlier bruises were beginning to seize up as he dared to sit down for a few minutes.

As equilibrium returned, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Colonel, I don't think Faceman is up to any more tonight." Murdock spoke quietly. He'd been unusually quiet since they'd got back to the condo, but then nobody had been especially talkative.

Face shot a glance at Murdock, surprised and rather confused. In truth, he was sore as hell, but that also wasn't unusual in a mission.

Hannibal had paused in his progress and was giving Face an appraising look. BA had stopped by the door, confused. Murdock's observation was sweet of him, but also a little galling. Face wasn't sure how to respond. Luckily, the Colonel spoke before he could.

"...You do look beat, kid." Hannibal commented, eyes roving over the bruise on his jaw. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise." He concluded, somewhat bafflingly. He had of course realised Face was rather bruised. He meant he hadn't realised it was bad enough to slow him down. Hadn't realised BA was not their only cause for concern. His probing stare shifted to the arm Face was holding against his stomach, then up to meet his eyes. He asked a question with a split second side glance at BA.

This time, Face had no difficulty understanding. He nodded once without looking away from Hannibal. The Colonel, he did acknowledge, needed to know his only injuries had come from BA, not something unnoticed by the others since. BA, absolutely did not.

Hannibal gave a grimace of sympathy.

"Alright, we'll start in the morning." He spoke. "Murdock, BA, get food-"

"What about Dunning?" BA demanded.

"He's not going anywhere. He knows we can't prove anything yet. He'll double his security and be back to the casino by tomorrow." Hannibal answered with an unconcerned wave of a hand. There was an uncharacteristic terse note in his voice.

"Get food." He repeated. "Face, get some ice on that." He gestured vaguely in Face's general direction.

Face gave a mock salute and lowered himself carefully back onto the sofa. Ice had waited for almost an entire day. It would wait a few minutes longer.

Four...no, five days earlier when they had first started the mission, they had hilariously believed it would be simple. A client with an innocent, if foolish father, a bad debt to a very powerful man and the blackmail to follow. They'd dealt with the same general theme many many times over. They would first find the father and give him an exit ticket from helping Dunning's empire launder cash…And on that very first hurdle they had tripped and fallen. They had found a base camp in the small town a few miles west of Pablo Ridge and Dunning's casino. The little town allowed them to get a sense of how the locals felt about Dunning's empire, gave them a clue as to the kind of man they were dealing with. It was also where their client's father was living. Slowly losing his autonomy to Dunning.

It took two days before he would even speak to them. The team had already been to Dunning and introduced themselves, before beginning their rounds of upsetting the many facets of his businesses in all of the surrounding towns. Four days in, the team were having fun, there was no denying it. Dunning was fast losing patience with them and beginning to lose the frosty politeness with which he had originally greeted them. He was after all on the surface, a businessman and a socialite. Hannibal had dispatched the others to speak to the father again, suspecting that his own somewhat unsympathetic first impression on the man had contributed to his refusal to open up to them. Hannibal was making plans for their next steps.

Unfortunately, Hannibal had been absolutely right about the father. With just the three of them, less the rather judgemental Colonel, he had opened up like a leaky faucet and suddenly they had more information than they'd ever wanted. Why this man was so afraid to defy Dunning. The kids he feared would take his place if he said no.

Reclining on the sofa, eyes closed, Face thought a few minutes had passed, when something freezing thunked onto his stomach. He tensed up and would have bolted upright, had his senses not registered the cold and worked out what had happened before he gave his abused muscles more cause for complaint. Instead, he let out a quiet 'oof' and gave Hannibal a reproachful look. As he'd known he would be before he'd opened his eyes, the Colonel was standing over him, grinning. Despite his reproach, he re-positioned the ice and allowed a quiet moan of relief as it settled against his bruised abdomen.

"It wasn't just the face, huh?" Hannibal asked, taking a seat across from the sofa.

Face quirked a rueful smile.

"One to the gut, one to the face. To get me off him and to stop me chasing him." He explained honestly. He remembered looking up at BA, struggling to breathe. The split second indecision as BA tried to work out if he was done or not.

"I admit for a minute there I thought he was going for lights out."

"It's a grim job, anything with kids." Hannibal replied, clearly somewhat sympathetic to BA's reaction. "But I am sorry Face, I didn't ask."

As he always did when Hannibal was being sincere, Face squirmed visibly and waved him off.
"I took your concern as implied in 'get me a helicopter'." He answered with a wry glare.

Hannibal laughed.
"That was impressive work." He acknowledged with a smile. "You did good kid, real good."

"Ye of little faith." Face countered, feeling a faint blush rise in his cheeks. Hannibal only laughed again. Unlike Face, he was not embarrassed by sincerity. If praise or apology were warranted they would be given.

Face was still sitting with his ice when BA and Murdock returned with food. The angry scowl had disappeared from BA's face and been replaced by a slightly uncomfortable look. Murdock on the other hand, looked pleased with himself.

Face looked up with interest as BA approached him. For a moment, it appeared his intentions were simply to stand there. Face glanced at Hannibal, who clearly shared his confusion, to Murdock, who wore an amused and expectant expression, back to BA.

"... Can I help you with something BA?" Face asked at last.

"I shouldn't have hit you. M'sorry." BA mumbled suddenly.

Face stared at him, wondering what on earth Murdock could have said to him that would prompt this sudden contrition.

"Well I concur, but you're forgiven." Face replied after a brief, rather embarrassed pause. There was a smirk on Hannibal's face which spoke of great enjoyment of this scene.

BA rubbed a hand over the back of his head.
"It was dumb, I coulda hurt you bad. We coulda been chasin' Dunning now if I hadn't."

"BA it's okay really." Face insisted, sincere now he could see the other man truly struggling. "It was just the heat of the moment, I understand you were angry. Besides, Hannibal is right, why chase tonight when he'll be slinking right back into his hole tomorrow?"

BA nodded slowly, seeming to accept he wasn't going to get a lecture. Face wasn't stupid after all. If BA had intended to do anything other than get away from him, he'd be in the hospital, not sporting a couple of bruises. Finally, a half smile began to spread across his face.

… "Did you really scam a helicopter looking like that?"

Hannibal laughed, while Face looked affronted.

"Now BA, if I only had one method of acquisition, would I have my sterling reputation?"

"For cheating and lying?" BA asked, entirely seriously, which made Hannibal laugh hard enough to need to remove his cigar from his mouth in case he choked. Murdock looked on, grinning from ear to ear.

Face flashed a dazzling smile, if a little hampered by an ugly bruise.
"Well you know the story. Did Murdock mention a single lie or cheat used to get this helicopter?"

"No." BA frowned. He looked at Murdock. "But you can't be serious. He just asked for it?"

Murdock's grin only grew, while Face raised a single eyebrow. BA's expression returned to confusion.

"Then what reputation you talkin' about man?"

Face got to his feet with respectable smoothness. He gave a lopsided grin, remembering the bruise this time, giving BA a daring pat on the back.
"Anything, anywhere BA. Anything, anywhere."

Four days later, the team stood on the side of a deserted road, gazing at the horizon. Some miles behind them, a rather shell-shocked Dunning and an extremely angry collection of henchmen were in the hands of the police. Unfortunately, those same police weren't so grateful as to pretend not to recognise the four men who delivered the evidence that would put them in jail. Somewhere much less far behind them, military police were closing in on their own prize.

"Got a plan Colonel?" Face asked after a long and ponderous silence.

Hannibal smiled and levelled his lieutenant with an unimpressed, expectant stare. Murdock was staring at the skies as though hoping to imagine a plane into being. BA was behind them, facing the sirens. Face glanced at him, then back to the road. Guard duty was all very well. Important of course, but if Decker appeared they could hardly shoot him. There was nowhere else to run.

Luckily, right at that moment, their client's car appeared on the horizon. Their client who by all rights should have been back in her own town. Their young, beautiful, blonde client whose father they had all just saved. Face smiled as she pulled up.

"Need a ride boys?" She asked innocently. If the sirens alarmed her in any way, she ignored them. She settled her gaze on Face and her smile grew.

As the sirens faded into the dust behind them, Face turned in the front seat to face the others.
"You don't have to say it…"

"Good cos we ain't gonna." BA growled.

Hannibal and Murdock laughed, while Face winced dramatically.
"That's okay BA, I mean, some might say it would be nice after all…" He rubbed his jaw, still yellowed by his fading bruise.

"Alright alright man shut up."

"Say iiiiittt…" Face needled, smugness radiating from every pore of him. Murdock let out a low whistle and hid his face behind his hands. Hannibal calmly lit a cigar.

"You're pushing your luck, Face, you know that?" BA growled, apparently heedless of the irony of his threat.

Face only continued to wait, grinning. He waited an entire thirty seconds of BA's glare, before he sighed heavily, shaking his head in disappointment and turning back to the front.

A muttering sound was heard from the backseat. A quick glance in the rear view mirror showed Hannibal and Murdock staring at BA in surprise, while BA looked out of his side of the car moodily.

"What was that?" Face asked innocently.

And in the blink of an eye he had all the answer he needed. BA launched towards the front seat, arm locking around Face's neck. Hannibal jerked forward, giggling, but offering a vain yet appreciated effort to hold him back. Murdock began an animated commentary on proceedings, bouncing precariously in his seat. Face spluttered with laughter through BA's hold, prompted as it was by music to his ears.

"I said anything, anywhere man!"