PLANES, TANKS, AND TUTUS
Based on the TV Show "A-Team"

"Hey, kiddo," Face said, snapping back to himself, "We've been looking all over for you."

Pushing his gun to the side, he kneeled down in front of the terrified girl. She looked relatively unharmed given her surroundings, save for a pair of hand shaped bruises on her forearms. Her right knee was scratched up also, surrounded by a ragged hole in the leg of her ballet tights. Her face was tear-stained and her hair looked like it could use washing. Belatedly, Face realized her right hand was cuffed to the pipe coming off of the toilet. As he moved towards her, she huddled into a tighter ball in the space between the bowl and the wall. Face felt his jaw tighten as he fought to maintain a friendly expression. There were some lines you just didn't cross, especially with a kid.

"Listen," he said, lifting his hands up to show her he wasn't going to hurt her, "Your dad sent me here to find you, sweetie. Me and my team, we're here to take you home."

At his words, the girl lifted her head up. The look she gave him could be described as suspicious at best.

"Y-you don't look like a policeman," she mumbled softly. Face grinned. The kid was smarter then he had been at her age.

"That's because I'm not," he admitted, moving a little closer. Immediately she tightened into an impossibly smaller ball, forcing him to stop, "I served with your dad in Iraq."

It was a half truth, considering he had never met the man. But Hannibal had assured the group he was a fellow soldier and the kid didn't need things complicated for her. A small sniff came from the girl's direction.

"You're a Ranger?" she asked, her voice incredibly soft.

"Yeah," Face replied, grasping at what straws he could, "Do you want to see my tattoo?"

The body art must have given her a small sense of familiarity, because she looked up at him. Wipping her nose and eyes with the back of her hand, she nodded. Face approached her, slowly rolling up his shirt sleeve till the tattoo was little girl stared at it, eyes widening.

"Are you going to take me home?" she asked, uncurling slowly.

"You bet, sweetie," Face replied, "I'll make sure you get home safe. But first we got to get those handcuffs off you."

He leaned over her, grabbing hold of her cuffed hand. She stiffened at his touch, drawing a deep breath, but didn't pull away. He worked quickly and it wasn't long before he had her in his arms and was running for the door.

"Hannibal, I've go her," he reported over the comm, "Murdock, get ready."

"Roger, will do, good sir," a British accent sounded in his ear.

"Nice job, Face," Hannibal's voice came back in reply, "B.A., time to let up on our distraction."

"Just as long as this isn't a repeat of Baghdad,' muttered B.A. darkly.

The rest of the team's communication was drowned out as Lindsey suddenly threw her arms around Face's neck. He realized he had barely noticed the kid's weight despite the fact she was ten years old. Pushing observation aside, he sprinted for the stairwell. Below him, gunfire erupted loudly again causing Lindsey to gasp and shiver.

"We're almost there, kiddo," Face tried reassuring her, "Don't worry. i won't let anything happen to you."

He made it to the roof just as Murdock was landing. Covering Lindsey's head, he ducked under the copter's blades and opened the doors. Placing the girl in the seat, he buckled her in before closing them again and getting in the copilot seat.

"Let's go, buddy," he yelled over the headset.

The crazy pilot didn't need telling twice. With the flick of a switch, he pulled the bird into the air and began heading to the rendezvous point. Face hazard a quick glance over his shoulder at the little girl. She looked shaken. He considered reaching back and patting her on the knee, but decided against it. The kid would probably freak on him. He liked to think he was good with kids, but situation was well past his league.

"She's safe, Face," Murdock's voice sounded in his ear. He looked over to see the pilot's gaze split between him and the air, "We did good."

Face nodded.

"Yeah, buddy," he replied, "We did do good."


Everyone managed to make it back to the rendezvous point in relative safety. Picking Lindsey up, Face followed behind Murdock to the van. As they approached, the vehicle's doors flew open revealing Hannibal sans cigar in his mouth. Face felt Lindsey stiffen in his arms just before she started to cry.

"Hey, hey," Face said, looking over at her, "What is it? Don't worry, kiddo. This is my team. They helped me get you out of there."

He glanced over at Hannibal as he babbled on, begging for help. The colonel simply stared at him and the girl, apparently taken-aback by her reaction. In all honesty, none of the four men had much in the way of experience when it came to crying children. Even Murdock had jumped back slightly at her outburst.

"Lizzy...Lindsey," sputtered Face uncomfortably, "What's is it? What's wrong?"

"W-where's my d-daddy?" the little girl sobbed.

"Oh, oh, I know this one. I know this one," Murdock yelled, jumping up excitedly. Face shot him a look to shut up, but the shout had made the crying suddenly stop. In fact, Lindsey was now staring at Murdock as if she didn't know what to make of him, which in all fairness was a look every member of the team had given the crazy man at some point.

"He's at your house waiting for you," Murdock continued, pointing at her, "And B.A. there in the van's gonna drive you to him."

"We'll keep you safe," Face added in what he hoped was a comforting manner, " Promise. These guys, they've all got tattoos just like mine and your dad's."

Again, the mention of the tattoo seemed to calm the girl. She gave Face a slight, almost imperceptible nod and wrapped her arms around his neck again. The lieutenant shot his commanding officer a quick grin and carried the girl to the van.

"Nice work, Face," said Hannibal as he helped him load the girl into the van. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lindsey shoot B.A. a warry glance before here eyes closed again.

Poor kid must be exhausted, Face though, shocked he hadn't realized it before. Gently, he placed her in the seat, making sure to buckle her in tight. Then swinging in behind Hannibal, he took the seat next to her.

"No cigar?" he asked, glancing back at his boss.

"Not around the kid," Hannibal replied, "At least not right now."

Face nodded in understanding. Looking over at the little girl, he saw she had passed out the moment she'd been put in the seat. Slightly worried, he leaned over to check her pulse. It was as steady as her breathing. As he suspected, she was simply exhausted.

"Where to now?" asked B.A., looking back through the rear view mirror.

"Let's drive a few hours," said Hannibal, "Just to make sure no one followed us."

B.A. nodded, revving up the engine. Murdoch muttered something about a road less traveled by before belting out Route 66 lyrics. Hannibal pulled opened and began checking the van's road map. Face could only stare in amazement as none of the team's unusually loud movement did nothing to wake up the sleeping girl in the back seat.


A.N. : So cute, not cute? No worries, the constant crying will abate and then the fun can begin. Mwahahahahahaaaa. Thanks everyone for their reviews so far.

Back                         Home                              Miscellaneous Television Fanfic Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews and constructive criticism will be posted!