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Tangled Web

Hannibal Smith paced the floor of his gilded cage in Langley. He chewed on the end of his cigar as he paced. BA Baracas, sitting on the couch, followed Hannibal's path with his eyes.

"Hannibal, I ain't seen you like this in long time. What's eatin' at cha man?"

Hannibal turned on his heel to face BA. He mouthed the words, "Not here," and continued to pace.

BA slowly rose and walked toward the bathroom. "Well, if you ain't gonna talk, I'm gonna grab a shower, maybe watch the fights tonight." He continued toward the bathroom and closed the door. A minute later he turned on the shower and waited.

Hannibal walked to the bathroom and slowly opened the door. He whispered to BA, "Stockwell just informed me that Ellen Bancroft is dead. Killed in a car accident. I know I've got to tell Face, but the doctors said he needed to avoid stress…hell, he hasn't even been home from the hospital a week."

BA sighed. "He's got to be told Hannibal. It's better that he hears it from one of us instead of Stockwell."

"You're right. But there's one hitch." Hannibal pulled a folded piece of pink paper from his pocket and handed it to BA. "It's from Ellen. Read it."

BA unfolded the letter and read, his face turning into a scowl as he read. "Is this true?"

Hannibal sighed. "I believe her, BA. Why would she lie? And if what she wrote is true, then I don't believe her car accident was an accident at all. I think she was murdered."

BA put his hand on Hannibal's shoulder. "We gotta get outta here Hannibal. You need to come up with a plan." BA knew he was expressing the obvious, but he simply couldn't be silent.

Hannibal nodded and slowly opened the door. He placed the letter back in his pocket and mouthed, "I'm working on it." He slipped out of the bathroom and down the hall to the den.

Face was lying on the couch, having a fitful sleep. Murdock sat in a chair across from Face, watching, waiting, his brows knitted together in concern. Hannibal tapped Murdock's shoulder, causing him to be startled. "Hannibal, you scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry Murdock. Listen, you got a minute? I'd like to talk to you."

Murdock nodded his head no. "No can do Hannibal. Somebody's got to stay with Face. Sometimes he starts having nightmares, and somebody's gotta wake him up. We can't let him pull his stitches out."

Hannibal pulled out Ellen's letter and handed it to Murdock. He bent to Murdock's ear and whispered, "Read this. But don't make a sound."

Murdock unfolded the pink paper and began to read.

Hannibal,

I'm sending this to you instead of Face because I don't want to do anything to endanger his recovery. I'm writing to let you know that Face's life is in danger. I can't go into details, but I have reason to believe that the shooting at Villa Cucina was no accident. My sources tell me that it is true that the Attorney General was to be assassinated. However, Face was to be killed as well. I'm aware that your house is bugged, and I know you are too. Seems that once Face and Frankie decided to go to Villa Cucina, the contract was renegotiated for a "bonus" hit -- Face. My source tells me that Stockwell ordered the hit. Tell Face I'm still getting used to having a big brother—and I like it, so don't do anything foolish. Tell him I love him. Please keep him safe. I'll try to get more information to you as I can.

Ellen

Murdock slowly folded the paper and handed it back to Hannibal, his expression grim. His thoughts went back to Ellen and Face, standing at the gravesite of their father. Face had told Ellen that day that he was her brother. He had expected rejection, but instead Ellen had simply pulled Face into an embrace, not speaking, just accepting him into her life. They were still learning about each other, but the bond created that day appeared to be a strong one.

Hannibal spoke softly, pulling Murdock out of his thoughts. "Stockwell just told me that Ellen was killed in a car accident yesterday."

Murdock snapped his head toward Face. He slowly turned to Hannibal. "We gotta tell him Colonel. He's got to know the truth."

Hannibal placed his hand on Murdock's shoulder. "We'll tell him when he wakes up."

Hannibal walked toward his room, shoulders slumped, head downcast. Murdock knew that telling Face his sister was dead would be one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. Murdock also knew that the colonel was formulating a plan to get them out of Langley. Though Murdock was free to come and go as he pleased, he would go with the team. They were his family.

Face began to mumble in his sleep. The words were slurred and Murdock couldn't make them out. He went to Face's side and began to stroke his hair. "Shhh. It's okay Face. It's okay." Face turned his head toward Murdock's voice, never awakening. Murdock continued to stroke Face's hair.

Murdock looked at the face of his best friend. What was it about the man this man that caused everyone to want to protect him? Face was strong. He could take care of himself. But there was a vulnerability about him…you could see it in his eyes if you looked fast enough. Face was an expert at hiding his emotions. But Murdock, BA, and Hannibal had all caught a glimpse of the real Face throughout the years.

All his life Face wanted a family. Sure, he had found one in the A-Team. Yet sometimes that wasn't enough. When the team went to see BA's mother, Face would become sullen, no doubt wondering what it would have been like if he had been raised by his mother instead of the sisters in the orphanage. And while everyone considered BA the member with a weak spot for children, Face was right up there with him. They had even helped a man keep his foster home free of charge, with Face's blessing. Then he met his father, AJ Bancroft, and his half-sister Ellen. Though he never really had a father-son talk with AJ, he could reflect on things the man had told him, a halfway apology as Face put it. Face would call Ellen at her home in Florida weekly just to see how she was doing, having "normal family" conversations. Face took his role as big brother seriously…from offering financial advice to teasing her about her dates.

Frankie Santana walked into the den, a cup of coffee in his hand. "Hey, Murdock. I thought you could use a cup. Why don't you go rest up a while? I can stay with Face." Frankie offered the coffee to Murdock. Murdock took the cup from Frankie and took a sip. "Thanks, Frankie. I'm okay though. I'm really not tired. I need to be here when he wakes up. We got some bad news."

Frankie frowned. "What's wrong, Murdock? Face's is going to be okay isn't he? I thought the doctors said he'd be fine as long as we didn't let him overdo it."

"Yeah, he'll be fine. It's just….well, we got some bad news. We're going to tell him when he wakes up." Murdock took another sip of coffee.

"Tell me what?"

Frankie and Murdock turned toward the voice from the couch. Face was awake. "Tell me what?"

Murdock spoke first. "Frankie, why don't you get Hannibal and BA , okay?"

Frankie nodded and went down the hall. He knocked on Hannibal's door. Hannibal opened the door slowly. "He awake?"

"Yeah."

"Tell BA."

Frankie walked down to BA's room. BA opened the door before Frankie could knock. "I heard. Let's go."

BA, Hannibal, and Frankie walked back into the den. Murdock had pulled his chair a little closer to where Face lay on the couch. Face was obviously becoming agitated.

"C'mon Murdock. Tell me what's going on. You're obviously keeping something from me. I thought we were past doing that. Just tell me the truth." Face tried to sit up, but the sudden movement caused a spasm of pain and he fell back against the pillow.

Hannibal spoke. "Face, there's something you need to know. God, how do I do this?" He walked over to Face and knelt on the floor. Putting his hand on Face's shoulder, he said quietly, "Face, Ellen was killed in a car accident. I'm sorry."

Face said nothing, the words pouring through his mind. Ellen was dead? That couldn't be. He had just spoken to her a week ago. She couldn't be dead. He had just found her. He turned his head toward the back of the couch, still saying nothing.

BA walked over to Face and placed his hand on Face's hand. "I'm sorry about your sister, Face."

Face turned toward BA. "Could you help me to my room? I want to be alone."

BA looked at Hannibal, who nodded. "Sure thing. Let's get you up." BA pulled back the covers and he and Hannibal helped Face sit up.

Murdock joined them. "Face, I'm so sorry. What can I do?"

"Nothing. I just need to be alone." Face looked up at Murdock, a faint smile crossed his face. "Really, Murdock. I'll be okay. I just need to be alone."

BA put Face's right arm around his neck. He placed his arm around Face's waist and helped him toward the bedroom, followed by Hannibal.

Frankie had gone ahead and pulled the covers down on Face's bed. He stood silently as BA helped Face into bed. Hannibal pulled the covers up to Face's shoulders. "You sure you don't want one of us to stay?"

"Yeah, thanks Hannibal. I'll be okay." Face turned toward the wall, and Hannibal could see how hard Face was trying to stay composed. Hannibal patted BA on the back. "Let's go BA." He turned to Face, "If you need anything, you just call, okay?" Then he turned to Frankie. "Come on Frank."

The men walked toward the door. Frankie turned back and said, "I'm sorry Face."

Face nodded his head, then turned back toward the wall. He could hear his friends leave, shutting the door behind them. Finally alone, Face closed his eyes and thought of Ellen. Then he began to cry.

BA and Frankie had gone back to the den. Hannibal stood outside Face's door. He could hear Face crying. Every fiber of his being wanted to go comfort Face, but he knew that Face just needed to be alone right now. Hannibal stayed at the door, listening for any sign from Face that he needed help.

XXXXXXXX

"Well, how did he take it?"

"He's crying, General. It's really rather touching."

Stockwell smiled. "I'm sure it is, Ellen. I'm sure it is."

TBC