Game Got Switched 4/? (MOV)
Title: Game Got Switched 4/? (MOVIE)
Warning: Language
Summary: The team takes a job that will bring big changes.
Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3
*****
“Oh yeah! That’s right! Take it! What’s my name?” Face’s shouts could be heard over the music coming from the basement.
B.A. didn’t care that he probably shouldn’t be rushing down the stairs at those two fools, but yelling from the door hadn’t worked and with Hannibal in town he wasn’t going to sit up in the living room and listen to the shit they were doing down there.
“I swear, I come down these stairs and see any more of y’alls naked asses, I’m gonna kill both y’all.” Once had been more than enough for him. He was still not happy with them messing around in his van after the Strikersville job six months back.
“Faaaaaaace.” Murdock pleaded.
B.A. was furious. It was better when they were hiding; at least it kept their loud asses quiet. Though he didn’t want to know how because they were noisy enough about regular day-to-day stuff. Like Murdock having a 3-hour coronary on their first day at the lake house two months ago when he came down into the basement apartment and found the shelves of records. The Rolling Stones were blaring from the stereo now, loud as shit but not enough to cover their noise.
“Goddamn.” B.A. growled stepping down from the last stair. He did not need mental images. He was gonna strangle the both of ‘em.
Coming around the corner B.A. stopped short and looked at the scene in front of him. Face stood with hands thrown victoriously in the air as Murdock glared at him from the other side of the air hockey table. Thankfully, they were fully clothed… well, except Face’s missing shirt, but really when didn’t his ass walk around the house shirtless?
B.A. hit the off button on the record player and the pair turned quickly in the direction of the now deafening silence.
“Bosco! What’s up?” Murdock looked at him puzzled.
“Hey man, you shouldn’t have walked down those stairs.” Face stepped closer before stopping. “You ok? You look kinda…”
“Shut up. Both of y’all. All that damned noise. Could still hear y’alls racket over that music.”
Face and Murdock looked at each other then started to laugh.
“Oh! You heard, wait…” Face outright giggled.
“You thought we were?” Murdock wagged his eyebrows.
“Shut up.” B.A. growled, though he wasn’t the least bit menacing as two laughed even harder.
“Bosco, that didn’t sound anything like sex noises. They’re more like…” Murdock threw his head back and shouted, “Oh, god yes, right there. Oh, Temp, please.”
B.A. watched the conman go bright red at the intimate use of his given name before he smacked Murdock square in the chest.
“Uhf.” The pilot grunted. “Well, get it right or pay the price,” he chuckled.
“No, you’re gonna pay the price if I hear any of it.” B.A. pointed at them as he started to leave.
“Hey, mudsucka flip my stereo back on.” Murdock said.
B.A. flipped Murdock the bird instead but still hit the record player’s power switch before he made his way back upstairs.
“Love you, too!” Murdock shouted as he turned back to the air hockey table. “Come on, Face, best two outta three.”
*****
“Her name’s Amy Allen. She’s a writer for an online magazine, Metamorphosis. It’s supposed to be a community magazine but they seem to be more in the business of stirring up trouble for themselves. They go above and beyond their duty in community activism by exposing low life thugs in the L.A area, even some heavy drug hitters. My kind of magazine,” Hannibal grinned dangerously as he passed around the folder with Amy’s information in it. “Allen started asking around about us two weeks ago, after her brother, Derek, a missionary worker went missing in Guatemala.”
“This woman’s brother is a missionary?” Face held up the photo of Amy Allen. She was in her late 20’s with severe, asymmetrical cut jet black hair. Her nose, eyebrow and lip were pierced and she wore dark makeup.
Murdock took the photo from Face, “She’s cute. In a Bride of Frankenstein sorta way.”
B.A. tried to stifle a laugh before Hannibal continued with business.
“She’s already been through Mr. Lee and he said she’s clean. We’re supposed to meet her tomorrow in L.A.”
“Shotgun!” Murdock shouted, though no one was fighting him for the all-sacred road trip seat.
“Hell no, fool, you ain’t sitting up front with me.”
The next day as B.A. pulled the van into the parking lot of Sherwood’s Liquors, Inc. Face started to laugh when Murdock began to hum a familiar tune. By the time they’d reached the front of the building, the pilot was full out singing.
“We’re men, We’re men in tights, we roam around the forest looking for fights.”
“Man, you need to shut the hell up. We ain’t supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves.” B.A. barked as he opened the door.
Once inside they positioned themselves around the room. Hannibal by the old juke box near the employee exit, B.A. and Murdock at a table near the entrance and Face at the bar in back.
Twenty minutes had passed the scheduled time of the meeting and Amy Allen still hadn’t shown.
“Ya’ think something spooked her?” Murdock wondered aloud as he watched the door.
At the bar a tall, thin brunette sat down beside Face. He smiled at her and immediately caught a flicker of recognition before she closed it off and smiled back.
She gave him the once over. “I sure haven’t seen you in here before.”
“Just passing through.” There was something vaguely familiar about her features that Face couldn’t quite place.
“Ah, I see.” The smile slipped from her face as she signaled the bartender and that’s when it clicked. Face knew who she was but since she thought she had the upper hand he was going to play it out for a bit.
They sat and small talked back and forth for a few minutes before Face decided to go for broke.
“Anything interesting to do around here?” He amped up the Faceman charm and placed his arm around the chair as he moved in closer to her.
She gave him a wary glance before she once again checked herself and leaned into him.
“You’re in L.A. There are tons of things to do.”
“Care to show me some?” Face slid his hand to the small of her back.
She stiffened and then hissed while still smiling. “Care to take your hand off me, Peck?”
“Well, you seem to know who I am but the question is do I know you?” Face watched as she tried to work out the situation. Her eyes flicked around before she relaxed a bit and returned his steady gaze.
She started to respond but he cut her off.
“Ms. Allen, you need to leave the cloak and dagger routine to those better versed in it. I knew who you were the minute you sat down.” Face laughed and moved his hand back to the chair. “Now that the two of us have made our introductions, how about we go meet the rest of my team?”
*****
Murdock started to comment again about the whole thing being a bust but stopped when he caught B.A. staring at the bar in irritation. “What’s that scowl for, ya’ big ol' Mörökölli*?”
When B.A. didn’t respond to the name calling with his usual rumble, Murdock followed his glare and saw Face huddled close, arm draped over the chair of the brunette woman next to him.
“Gonna go defend my honor?” Murdock chuckled then reached out and squeezed B.A.’s bicep. “My hero!”
“Get off me, fool. What’s he doing?” B.A. asked as Hannibal sat down at the table.
“You can ask him yourself. Here they come.” Hannibal watched as Face and the woman with the guarded demeanor made their way over to join them.
“Guys, I want you to meet Amy Allen.” Face grinned at B.A. and Murdock’s confusion while Hannibal laughed like it’d been part of his plan all along.
“Amy Allen, this is H.M. Murdock, Bosco Baracus and Hannibal Smith but I’m sure you already knew that.” Face pointed out before he sat down.
“What’s with the get up?” Hannibal questioned as Amy took the seat next to him.
“I needed to make sure you guys were legit. Our magazine has done stories that have pissed off a lot of people; people who wouldn’t think twice about pretending to help find Derek, just to get at me. ”
“You got in touch with us through Al Massey. Didn’t he tell you about the Mexico job we did for him?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t need to look out for myself. Now that I know you’re who you say you are I’d rather discuss details somewhere less open. Let’s finish this at my place. I don’t live too far from here.”
“We can do that.” Hannibal agreed as Amy got up from the table.
Outside Amy walked to a beat up old VW Golf that was parked beside them.
“Nice van. Not the least bit conspicuous. Don’t park it too close to my place.” Amy said as she got into her car.
B.A. growled as Murdock snickered while climbing into the back.
B.A. dropped Face and Murdock off out front of the building before he and Hannibal went around the block with the van. When Amy met them at the door to her place, sans wig she looked more like her photo with her dark hair and wearing jeans and a tank top.
“Sorry there’s not a lot of sitting space. Wherever’s cool.” Amy gestured as they entered the tiny studio apartment. She looked puzzled as Murdock took her at her word and hopped up on the breakfast counter.
“Get off there, man.” B.A. fussed, “No damned manners. You raised by wolves?”
“Howlin’ Mad, big guy,” Murdock winked but started to jump down anyway.
“It’s fine.” Amy sat and watched Murdock settle back in as B.A. shook his head then pointed a finger at Face.
Right as Face opened his mouth to react to the accusation Hannibal cleared his throat and effectively ended any issue before it started.
“Tell us more about your brother.”
“Derek’s older than me by three years. Where I felt the need to clean up the area that immediately affected me, he took off to other parts of the globe. He became a missionary over 5 years ago, been everywhere and never once had a problem, until now.
Two month ago he sent me a letter about these thugs who showed up in the neighboring village near Seamay. That’s where Derek ’s been for almost 6 months, helping to build a school. The main guy, Villacrés is bad business. Derek didn’t say what exactly was going on but he told me that a couple girls had gone missing.
The last time I heard from him he’d said that he and a few other of the men in the village were going to take care of finding the girls. That's been almost a month.” Amy’s eyes shone bright with unshed tears but flashed with anger.
“I’ve tried everything. The authorities here and in Guatemala and no one will help me. Massey said you guys were the best. If you are, then find my brother. I already told Mr. Lee that I can have the money to you easily. Just let me know where and I can set up a secure transfer.”
She waited as they seemingly as one, without anything more than a few glances at each other contemplated her offer, and then Hannibal shook his head as he looked at her.
“Ms. Allen, you’ve just hired the A-Team.”
Ch. 5
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*Finnish for grumbler/grouch