Outside the V.A. hospital 9:00p.m.
The black van came to a halt behind the VA building. Hannibal got out
and looked around to make sure no one was nearby. "Okay Murdock, it's
safe to come out."
Murdock opened up the van's side door and stumbled out into the parking
lot. "Thanks guys, I'll catch you all later. Unless Billy is
misbehaving, then I'll have to take him to obedience class. He can get
into sooo much trouble when I'm not around."
BA gave Murdock a sneer, than said, "You crazy foo, just how are you
going to take an invisible dog to obedience school?" After saying this,
BA then felt he was going to regret the answer.
"Glad you asked that, big guy. I'm just going to have to take him down
the hall to Henry Garcia's room. You see, that quy happens to train
dogs. He has his own school set up. It's an invisible school for
invisible dogs." Murdock grinned from ear to ear. He knew that BA
wouldn't like that answer.
"Murdock, are you sure you're going to be all right?" Hannibal asked.
He was quite concerned. The job they had just finished didn't go very
smoothly. Murdock received a head injury, Face sprained his ankle, and
Hannibal bruised some ribs. Though they did get the client's son out of
Mexico, Hannibal felt that the rescue could have gone smoother.
Murdock flapped his wings and pretended to be an airplane. "I'm flying
high, Colonel. I'm five by five and coming in for a landing." With
that, he flapped his arms some more and pretended to fly. He went right
into the front doors of the V.A. hospital. It didn't take the night
nurse on duty to call up some orderlies to subdue Murdock.
[It didn't take the night nurse on duty LONG to call up...]
Outside at the van, Hannibal and Face just stared at each other and
shook their heads, "I don't know about that boy. I hope he's going to
be all right," Hannibal said.
"I don't know about that crazy foo, ever!" BA said with disgust. He
started up the van and they were off.
Face put a hand on the Colonel's shoulder, "He'll be all right,
Hannibal. He's had lots of head injuries before and he's come out
okay."
"But Face, on those other times he wasn't as bad off as he was
yesterday, when we left Mexico. Remember?" Hannibal recanted their
adventure.
The team had been in Mexico for three days. By the third day, Face had
located the hideout for Mexico's top drug lord Sanchez. They then made
a grab for Mckenna's son Michael. That wasn't enough for the men of the
A-Team though. Ridding the country of Mexico's number one drug lord was
also appealing to them.
They sent Murdock to fetch a plane out at the
airstrip, and to be ready for a hasty escape. Murdock had taken the
weakened Michael with him. Michael had been a narcotic's officer,
working undercover. He was caught, tortured, and would have died if the
A-Team didn't get there when they did. The team knew Murdock's ability
to scam a good plane was practically nil. So of course he ended up with
the only plane that belonged to the drug lord.
The rest of the group, Hannibal, Face, and BA, took to the task of
placing explosives in the
gang's manufacturing plant. That should put the group out of business
for a while. The timer was set to go off during Murdock's takeoff.
BA, being worried about flying out of there, had set the timer to go off
too early. The team had just enough time to get in the jeep and head
towards the airstrip. The drug lord's gang set off after the A-Team
just moments after the explosion. The gang followed them to the airport
and to the awaiting plane. Murdock took off down the runway, after Face
had hit a distracted BA on the back of the head with a two by four. The
drug lord just happened to have a stinger missile that was capable of
shooting planes out of the sky. Even with Murdock's flying ability, he
wasn't able to fully escape the missile. It exploded near the tail of
the plane.
The results from that explosion damaged the tail rudder and
Murdock had very little control over the plane. Even with all the
damage, Murdock did make a miraculous crash landing... if you can call it that
Hannibal and Face had been sitting in the back of the plane
with BA. After the crash landing, Hannibal climbed into the cockpit.
He saw Murdock's face all bloody, ashen, and semi-conscious. They
pulled Murdock out of the plane and stopped a passing truck. "We need a
ride into town." Hannibal had asked the driver. Murdock had regained
full consciousness and refused medical help at a nearby hospital. He
kept insisting that he was all right.
"Yeah, but he's fine now. Look, he's even making like an airplane and
he still has Billy. That's a good sign," said Face encouragingly.
Hannibal still looked worried. "Just the same, I'm still going over
there tomorrow morning and check on him."
********************************************************************
To the orderlies handling Murdock, this was just another routine 'grab
and escort to the room,' that they did with him every time he goes out
on one of his jaunts. As usual, Murdock was cooperative and wanted to
desperately get back to his room.
When Murdock was alone in his room,
he clutched his aching head. He didn't want to tell Hannibal about it,
since he didn't want his leader to worry about him. The guys had enough
troubles staying one step ahead of the military.
Murdock popped a couple of aspirin. The doctor usually let him keep
things like aspirin, because he knew Murdock wasn't likely to overdose
on it. The throbbing in his head was getting worse. When the room
started to sway, he decided it was time to lie down. The aspirin had
no effect at all.
Murdock's headache was getting worse. 'Maybe I should have one of the
doc's here check me out' he thought. That thought quickly left his
mind. The doctor's would want to know how he got the head injury, and
Murdock was not prepared to answer those questions. He would just have
to suffer through this alone.
Murdock was getting quite sleepy, but he
remembered what Hannibal had told him. 'With a head injury, the patient
needs to have a watch kept over him and to make sure he didn't go into a
coma.' He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He thought about
calling Face or BA, but before he could get up to use the phone, he fell
into unconsciousness.
********************************************************************
Murdock was feeling pretty good. Maybe the aspirin did take effect.
The only problem, he wasn't in the V.A. hospital any longer. He was in
a shack that resembled the ones he saw in Vietnam. 'Good God!' he
thought. 'Oh no! I'm back in Vietnam!' A wave of panic set in.
He heard muffled voices coming from the next room, but was unable to pick
it up clearly enough to make out what they were saying. He surveyed his
surroundings. A bare floor, a few blankets on the floor on top of what
looked like a bed, a window. Something was odd. The window has no
pane. He walked over to it and peered outside into the courtyard. The
moonlight was bouncing off the landscape, giving him a good view of his
outside surroundings.
'This isn't Vietnam!' he thought. 'It does look
like part of the Asian countryside, but definitely not Vietnam.' The
courtyard outside looked very ancient. Not something one would find
still standing intact after years of war. Murdock spied a stone statue
with some writing on it. He couldn't make it all out being this far
away from it. Murdock gasped as he recognized the writing. It was in
Chinese.
**********************************************************************
The VA hospital. 6:00 a.m.
Hannibal arrived early to the Veterans Administration hospital - having made
himself up to look like an elderly orderly - a mustache, goatee and long black
hair down to his shoulders. BA dropped him off at the service entrance to
the hospital and he proceeded towards Murdock room.
BA parked the van behind the hospital, and was waiting near the electric
box. If anything was to go wrong, he would cut all electricity. This
would buy Hannibal and Face some time to escape.
Face arrived at the hospital a little after Hannibal. He posed as a
visiting doctor, wearing a white jacket and pants. He pretended to be
someone who was suffering from a cold. Hopefully this would keep
everyone at a distance. He walked up to the nurse's station. "Excus me
nurs. Achoo! I'm docta Whitman, I believe you ave a chart wit some
notes on it for one H.M. Murdock ere for me? Achoo!"
"Bless you. My, you do have a nasty cold don't you?" Nurse Chapel was
the night nurse on duty and was just about to finish her shift. She
sorted through her files but couldn't find any notes on Murdock. "Are
you sure there was something here for you? I can't find anything in Mr.
Murdock's chart."
"Achoo! Well, could you check in doctor Richter's office? Maybe e left
tem in dere. Achoo!" Face wiped his nose with a handkerchief he had
keep near his face. When the nurse left to check in the doctor's
office, Face placed some fake notes, that was in his jacket pocket,
into Murdocks file. The nurse returned to her station and told Face
that she couldn't find anything there either.
"Ah, nurs Chapel I believe? Ould you check Mr. Murdock's chart one more
time please? Achoo!" Face feigned impatience with the nurse.
Nurse Chapel sighed and checked Murdock's chart again. "I don't
believe this. There is a note for you. How could I have missed it the
first time? Oh my, I'm so sorry doctor. Here you go. Do you need help
find Mr. Murdock's room?"
Face started walking towards the elevator. "No…no, dats okay. I
believe I can find it. Tanks anyway." Face was glad that was over. He
wasn't fond of scams involving fake colds. By the time he got to
Murdocks room, Hannibal was already there.
********************************************************************
China. AD 581-618
Murdock turned his head towards the door, when he heard the voices
moving closer. He looked around the room for a place to hide, but
couldn't find any. The door opened and a woman entered. She was very
beautiful. Short black hair, brown eyes, small and thin, and a lovely
smile.
"I'm glad to see you are feeling better. We were worried about you.
Her clothes looked like something one would find in ancient China.
"I...I'm...Murdock. H.M. Murdock. Where am I? Everything I've seen
here so far suggests I'm in China. But...this can't be. China is a
very modern place now. All of this," he indicated to the objects in the
room with his arms, "suggests otherwise. If I didn't know better, I'd
swear I was in ancient China. Of course, we both now that isn't
possible."
Mulan looked confused, "Mr. H.M., you ARE in modern China. Why...we are
in the modern age. It's the year 618. The dawn of the Tang Dynasty."
"Mr. H.M.? Oh yeah, I could I forgot. You put the last name first.
You can just call me Murdock. All my friends do. Wait a minute. Did
you say 618? Like in AD 618? That's crazy. I must be insane, which I
already am, or dreaming. Hey, maybe this is a dream. If it is, it sure
is a beautiful one. And you're a pretty lady. By the way, what's your
name?"
"Mulan. I'm Fa Mulan. Are you sure you're all right now? You had a
nasty fall. We found you outside and brought you in."
"Found me outside? What was I doing here? Who's we?" Murdock felt
confusion coming on. He couldn't believe this was a dream. It seemed
too real. He pinched himself to see if it was a dream. "Ouch!" he
cried.
Mulan gave a little giggle. "Why did you try and hurt yourself? You
are a very funny man, Murdock. My father and I brought you in the
house. You had fallen off of your horse. You must have been traveling
a long time to get here from the imperial city. Are you going back to
the war soon? I think if you do, you should travel with me. I don't
think you can make it on your own. Your not a very good horseman."
[CAPS?]
"What war? You said this was 618? The Vietnam war was or will be in
the twentieth century. They didn't ride horses either. More like
tanks, and huey's." Murdock felt that he was going to have a lot to
talk about when he got back to see doctor Richter at the V.A. "Wait a
minute. I happen to know a little something about Chinese history. In
ancient times women weren't allowed to fight in the army."
Mulan gave Murdock a sly smile, "Murdock, I changed all that. The
emperor was so impresses with my performance in the army that I was
allowed to stay if I choose. My boyfriend is already at the wall
waiting for me to return. I am going to be leaving tonight. We
defeated the Huns once and we can do it again."
********************************************************************
V.A. hospital. 6:30 a.m.
When Face arrived at Murdock's room, he found Hannibal sitting next to
Murdock's bed. Doctor Richter was on the other side of the bed
examining Murdock. "Hey, what's going on? Isn't Murdock okay?"
Hannibal looked up at Face, "We don't know yet. When I got here,
Murdock was on the floor unconscious. I called doctor Richter and we
got him into bed."
Doctor Richter finished his exam with Murdock. He put the stethoscope
back into his bag and shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you.
He's in a coma. It appears to be the result of the head injury you said
he incurred. As to when and whether he recovers is anyone's guess. For
now, there's not much we can do except wait and see if there's any
change. He's in no immediate danger. I'll check back here in a couple
of hours. If there's no change then, we'll have to admit him to the
hospital for tests. I would like to do that now, but there's a
possibility he'll come out of it on his own. If you notice any change
at all, color, anything, notify me immediately."
"Thank you, doctor." Hannibal said. "How are we going to keep Murdock's
condition from being broadcast to the staff and to the military? I'm
sure someone will be coming by and they're sure to notice us."
"Let me worry about that, and you just concentrate on Murdock. I can
buy you some time. Now I must get on with my rounds before someone gets
suspicious." Richter looked carefully up and down the hall before he
slipped out of Murdock's room.
"Hannibal, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I should have insisted he
get medical help. He kept insisting he was fine, and usually Murdock
is. He always seems to bounce back." Face's face was full of worry for
his friend.
"Don't blame yourself, Face. I'm as much at fault as you are. This is
my team and I'm the leader. I should have ordered him to go to the
hospital. Stay here with Murdock. I'm going to go outside and let BA
know what's going on." Hannibal said.
********************************************************************
China. 618 AD.
After a lot of coaxing, Mulan was finally able to convince Murdock to
come out of the bedroom. He was still apprehensive as Mulan steered him
toward the dining room. Murdock sat down on the pillow cross-legged as
was typical in China at that period in time. Already seated at the
table were Mulan's parents.
Mulan introduced him to her parents. "Papa, this is Murdock H.M..
Murdock, this is my father Fa Zhou and my mother Fa Li." Mulan poured
the tea for everyone. Her parents began asking questions of Murdock and
shortly he started to feel a little more at ease.
"Murdock, you have just come back from the front. Is it true the Huns
have attacked again? Can you please talk some sense into my stubborn
daughter? She wants to go back there and it's a place to dangerous for
a girl," asked Mulan's mother.
"Mama, I am no longer a child. I did this once before and I can do it
again. It’s my destiny and it’s something I’m good at." Mulan pleaded.
"Murdock, please tell her that I am very good in the army and I can
fight just as good or better than any man."
"Mulan! It is not your place to talk to Murdock that way. It is also
dishonorable to talk to your parents in this manner." Mulan’s father
was getting agitated with his daughter’s insistence. He knew she was
right, but he couldn’t discount the tradition of several dynasties.
Mulan bowed to her father. "I am very sorry father. I do plan to
return and Murdock is going with me, so it’s not like I will be on my
own for the journey.
"Murdock, are you up for the journey? It is a long one and you were
injured." Mulan’s father said inquiringly.
Murdock got up from the table and began jumping up and down, then doing
jumping jacks. "Yes, I feel great. Let’s go kick some Huns buns."
Mulan and her parents looked at him quizzically, then looked at each
other. This man, they thought, does talk strangely.
After dinner, they prepared themselves for the journey. Mulan gave
Murdock the extra uniform that her fathers used to wear. She also
helped him pack some supplies that were needed for the journey. When
they were both dressed, Murdock was amazed. Mulan took on a whole new
transformation when she put on her uniform, and did her hair up on top
as was tradition of the Emperor’s army. Mulan then took Murdock
outside, behind the house, and up to their family's temple to pray for a
safe journey. She lit the incense and knelt in front of the idols.
After a minute or two she arose.
Murdock was busying himself looking the temple over. "Wow," said
Murdock in awe. "Man, this is great. Are ALL your ancestors buried
here? And what do those animals on the top represent?"
"Yes, Murdock. These are the burial spots for my ancestors spirits.
The ‘animals on top’ as you called them are our family’s guardians. I
just prayed for them to protect us on our journey. Come on, we should
be going. We can’t waste any time." Mulan said, pulling Murdock down
toward the stables.
Murdock halted and wouldn’t go toward the stables.
"Murdock, what’s wrong? We have to get going." Mulan was concerned
because Murdock suddenly turned white as a ghost.
**********************************************************************
V.A. hospital medical wing. 9:05 a.m.
After Dr. Richter had checked on Murdock two hours later he found no
change and ordered him transferred to the medical wing for tests.
Hannibal and Face left hospital temporarily. Just long enough to change
disguises, so they could get into the medical wing without being
detected. They knew that the staff would have to contact the military
and Decker was sure to be swarming around. When Hannibal got to the van
he told BA to head to the studio lot. On the way there, they would work
out the plan to get in to see Murdock.
The staff doctor, doctor Hams, was running x-rays on Murdock. All was
going well for the first couple of minutes, but then Murdock convulsed
slightly. The doctor stopped the tests and checked his vitals. He was
shocked! Murdocks blood pressure and temperature had risen. He called
for some specialists on head injuries to come in and have a look at this
patient.
*********************************************************************
Studio Lot 9:10 a.m.
As luck would have it, and the A-Team was definitely lucky, the studio
had just what Hannibal needed. His plan was to get the three of them
into the hospital to keep an eye on Murdock. When they drove onto the
lot, no one paid much attention to them. Hannibal was working on a
current film at this studio, so it made sense for him to come and go as
he pleased.
"Face, you come with me and we'll get the uniforms. BA, you go around
the corner, to the right there," he said pointing his finger to the road
leading behind some fake buildings, "And get us the ambulance that's
parked there."
"Say what? You want me to steal an ambulance? We'll get caught for
sure." BA was beginning to think Hannibal was as nuts as Murdock. Then
he started thinking about Murdock, lying there unconscious, and he
realized just how much he missed the 'crazy foo,' as he liked to call
Murdock.
"BA, it's just on loan to the studio for a film. I can’t have Face get
it, because you’re much better at hot wiring than he is. Besides,
we're just going to borrow it for a little while." Hannibal moved
closer to BA and put his hand on BA’s shoulder. "Look, I know you’re
worried about Murdock. We all are. So the quicker we get on with
this, the quicker we can see Murdock."
"Yea, I guess you’re right, Hannibal. I’ll get right on it." BA headed
for the ambulance. First he stopped by the van and picked up a few
tools necessary for his task.
Hannibal and Face made their way to wardrobe. "Face, let’s get us some
EMS uniforms. No one should suspect anything wrong with EMS techs
bringing in an injured man. We’ll just be bring in BA on a stretcher.
You create a distraction with the nurses, I’ll look up Murdock’s records
at the nurses station. Piece of cake."
Face looked at Hannibal with a worried look on his face. "Aren’t you
forgetting one small detail, Hannibal? Decker? He’s not going to be
slouching around the hospital you know. He’s going to be on the lookout
for us. I’m sure he’s going to check out everyone coming in or out of
there, whether they’re EMS personnel or not!"
"Oh relax, Lieutenant. I’ve got an idea for that too. I haven’t spent
all these years in the film industry without picking up some makeup
pointers. I’ll just fix us up with some disguises and Decker won’t know
the difference. That’s why BA’s going to be the patient. We’ll wrap
his head and face in bandages and cover up the rest of his body."
Hannibal turned away and began rummaging through the uniforms hanging on
the racks. "Here’s one just your size, Face. Put this one and after
I’m dressed, we’ll step over to the makeup center."
Face took the uniform out of Hannibal’s hand. "I just hope you know
what you’re doing, Hannibal," Face grumbled under his breath.
It took Hannibal only twenty minutes to make up Face and himself, so
Decker wouldn’t recognize them. They met up with BA, who had already
procured the ambulance. It only ten minutes to coax BA into wearing
the bandages, lie down in the back, and to be a PATIENT patient. Soon
they were on their way to the hospital to find out how their friend
Murdock was doing. The trip to the hospital was a quiet one. Everyone
in the ambulance had thoughts on Murdock and didn’t feel much like
talking.
*********************************************************************
V.A. hospital medical wing. 10:45 a.m.
The neurologist arrived at the hospital to check out Murdock. Murdock’s
vitals were stabilized by the time doctor Drummond got to his room. How
long was he convulsing?" he asked. Doctor Drummond was a tall man, with
graying hair. He was in his late sixties and was considered one of the
best in his field.
Doctor Hams was a middle aged man. He was a seasoned doctor on staff
here at the hospital. In all his years here, he had never run across
this. "It was a few minutes. After I turned off the machine, he blood
pressure was very high. His body temperature was also. This man is in
a coma, yet is reacting as though there was something going on. As if
he brain was very active, but when we did tests on his brain, it showed
a dormant status."
Doctor Drummond stroked his graying beard. "Well, lets have a look here
and see what’s happening to this young man."
********************************************************************
*********************************************************
China A.D. 581-610.
It was only a few minutes, but it seemed like eternity for Mulan.
Murdock's face had become completely white and he clutched at his head.
He dropped down to his knees in pain. "Murdock, was wrong?" she asked
concerned. She knelt down to him and wrapped her arms around him.
Cradling him until the pain subsided.
He finally regained his composure and color in his face. "I...I don't
know. I felt like my head was burning, but now the feeling is passed
and I'm feeling much better. In fact a lot of things that were dancing
around in my head are gone. When I woke up in your home I had thought
that this was a dream. Now I'm not so sure."
"All right. If you're sure you're better, then lets get the horses and
be on our way. We've got a long way to go, and the longer it takes, the
stronger the Huns become."
Murdock and Mulan packed up the horses and rode off. The night air was
cold on their faces. They rode up into the mountains and the snow began
falling. Murdock couldn't remember being this cold. He glanced over at
Mulan. She didn't appear bothered by the cold. If she was, then she
was hiding it very well. "How much farther is it, Mulan?" He hollered.
The wind started to blow and he didn’t know if she would hear him.
She moved her horse closer to his and gave him a quizzical look; "If you
just came back from the front, how could you forget the way already?
Your fall must have been worse than I thought. We should be there by
tonight. I just hope we’re not too late. Murdock, I'm so glad we’re
making this journey together."
"Me too," he said with a smile.
They made the rest of the journey in silence. Mulan had her mind on her
boyfriend Shang. She couldn’t wait to see him and fight side by side
with him again. Murdock spent the time wondering what was going on with
his mind. First he thought this was all a dream, now he was thinking
that this was all real. ‘Maybe that fall did do more damage to me than
I realize,’ Murdock mused. ‘That doesn’t explain the clothes I’m
wearing.’ They took short breaks and periodically walked the horses.
By nightfall they were getting close. "Look!" Murdock shouted to
Mulan. "I see the wall. It appears to be on fire!"
Quickly they rode towards the fighting. Their adrenaline was flowing
now.
********************************************************************
V.A. hospital. 11:05 a.m.
The A-Team scammed ambulance, was nearing the hospital. Face was doing
the driving. Hannibal was in the back trying to bandage an irate BA
"Get that stuff off me Hannibal, or you’re gonna need it fo yourself."
BA said, fighting off Hannibal’s attempts to wrap up his face.
"Now BA," Hannibal said frustrated. "How are we going to sneak you
inside if you’re not covered up? You're not exactly easy to hide, and
Decker is sure to be looking for us to make an appearance. Now come on,
we’re almost there. Do you want to see Murdock or don’t you?"
"Of course I do. What kinda fool question is that? But you’re on the
jazz, Hannibal and when you’re on the jazz, you’re not safe!" BA
started to calm down a bit.
"Now BA, is that any way to talk to your commanding officer? Lay back
down and let me wrap you up. Just think of it this way, at least you’re
not flying." Hannibal said with a wry smile. BA finally laid down, and
Hannibal was able to get the bandages on.
"Okay Hannibal, we’re just two blocks away. I’m going to turn on the
siren now," Face yelled from the front.
A few minutes later the ambulance pulled up in front of the emergency
doors. Face jumped out and opened up the back doors. He was dressed in
EMT fatigues, wore a mustache, had on a black hairpiece, and wearing
sunglasses. He then helped Hannibal get the bandaged BA out. Hannibal
had EMT fatigues on also, along with a black wig with inch think hair
sticking up wildly all over, and brown contact lenses. Makeup was
applied to give him the appearance of being of Hispanic ethnicity. When
he spoke, he used an accent reminiscent of South America.
Hannibal spotted two hospital orderlies standing outside near the doors
and called out to them. "Ey, you two muchachos. You come help us ere.
Dis man is burned all over is body."
The two men came over and helped Hannibal and Face wheel BA into one of
the empty rooms in the emergency area. "Quick, you two muchachos, go
get de doctor." Hannibal said as he pointed out into the corridor. The
orderlies rushed out.
Hannibal drew a great big smile, "Ah, I love it when a plan comes
together. Let's go, but before we do, let's take these pillows and put
them under the blanket. Maybe we can make it look as though BA passed
away." There was a skeleton hanging on the wall. Hannibal took the
feet off and then made BA take off his socks, which BA did with a LOT of
grumbling. He then put the socks on the feet and placed them at one end
of the gurney. This way it looked as though BA's feet were sticking
out. Next, he placed a toe tag on the left toe. When they were
finished, Hannibal bowed his head to the table. "May ye rest in peace."
Face stuck his head out to see if anyone was looking in his direction.
"Coast is clear, Hannibal. We can make it to the stairs, which by the
way, happen to be right next to us."
The three men then quietly exited the room and entered the stairwell.
They were halfway between the second and third floor when Hannibal
stopped in front of them. "Face, go out on the third floor and see if
you can get some information about Murdock. We'll wait here for you."
Hannibal stated.
"Hannibal, why me?" Face whined. "I'm not exactly dressed my best for
this sort of thing right now. Just look at me! I'm just in this getup
and you expect me to woo the nurses?"
Hannibal put his hand on Face's shoulder. "No, lieutenant, I expect you
to go and page Dr. Richter for us."
"Oh." Face straightened his shirt and proceeded through the third floor
door. He spotted a couple of nurses talking at the main desk. "Excuse
me ladies, but I seem to have a problem. I just brought a patient in
that was dying but the great doctors at this hospital saved him. He
didn't have any family with him. The only thing he had was a phone
number for his sweet, dear, old mother. The emergency rooms are so
crowded right now and I was wondering if I could use your phone to call
her. She'll be so pleased to know that he's going to be all right."
The shorter nurse with the blond hair and a nameplate that said Baker on
it gave Face the phone. "We'll just step back here and give you a
little privacy."
"Oh thank you. Thank you so very much." Face smiled at them as they
left. He got a hold of Richter and found out that Murdock was on the
floor above them. "Thanks doc."
He met Hannibal and BA back in the stairwell. They proceeded up to
Murdock's room. When they got there, only a nurse was in the room. She
was monitoring some machines that were hooked up to Murdock. She
glanced up as the three men walked into the room. "Can I help you
gentlemen?"
"Yes. We just brought in this patient and heard that a friend of his
was here," Hannibal pointed to BA.
The nurse noticed his bandaged face. "Oh dear. What happened to you?"
Face interjected, "It's a long and painful story that we really can't go
into now. This man here is waiting to see his friend. Alone if you
don't mind, Miss…?"
"Allen, Joyce Allen."
"Miss Allen. So if you'll excuse us he'd like to talk to his friend for
a little while." Face put his arm around Joyce and tried to lead her to
the door.
"That might be good for Mr. Murdock. You see, he's in a coma and we
don't know how long he'll be like that. Sometimes having loved ones
around helps the patient snap out of it. It's believed that they can
hear you when you talk and feel you when you touch them." She said just
before Face rushed her out and closed the door.
"Oh, man. What does she expect us to do? Sit here and hold Murdock's
hand?" BA said disgustedly.
Hannibal smiled like a Cheshire cat. "That's exactly what we're going
to do BA. If Murdock knows we're here, it just might help."
*****************************************************************
China A.D. 581-610.
Mulan and Murdock arrived at Captain Shang's encampment. "Shang I'm
back!" She shouted and climbed down from her horse. "What's happening
now? Did the Huns get through the wall?"
"Yes," said Shang. "Who's your friend?" he pointed to Murdock who was
also climbing down from his horse.
"Murdock at your service." Murdock did a little bow, then a jig for the
captain. "I'm ready to take on these invaders and send them running
back home like the little doggies that they are. Just lead me to your
choppers and I'll have them running scared."
Both Shang and Mulan looked at Murdock like he was loony. Then they
looked at each other and shrugged. Shang whispered in Mulan's ear. "I
hope he fights better than he talks."
"Yes, I’m sure he does. He had a fall from his horse and fell on his
head. I'm sure he'll bring honor to himself in battle though."
Murdock was busy studying the cannons. He noticed some kite material in
one of the tents. "Shang, why do you have kites in a war?" he asked.
"For our victory celebration when we are finished. Come, let's go fight
now." Shang said to Murdock and Mulan.
"No wait!" Murdock was studying the kites and the cannons. "If I can
combine these two together I can fashion a glider. I can then go atop
that hill over yonder, fly overhead the Huns and drop the cannons on
them."
"You are a complete lunatic! No more wasted time, we fight now!" Shang
got on his horse and commanded everyone to follow.
"Mulan? You must help me. I can do this. I know it. Please help me
and I know we'll win the war." Murdock looked pleadingly into Mulan's
eyes.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt things. I know exactly what you're going
through. I too took matters into my own hands during the last war. I
will help you Murdock. What shall I do?"
Murdock took Mulan by the hand and showed her the kites. "I want you to
strip the wood off these kites. Tie them together like this." He drew
a picture for her in the snow. It would be the basis for his glider.
"I'm going to find something sturdy to tie it to. I'll be right back.
Mulan began fastening the kites as Murdock instructed. Murdock found
some wood from the wagon that looked sturdy enough to hold him. After
an hour or so, the glider was ready. Mulan helped Murdock carry the
weapons to the top of the hill. Murdock couldn't believe that even HE
could come up with such a crazy plan such as this. He wasn't even sure
anymore where he even got the notion that he could fly.
"Let's hope this works. You better pray real hard to your ancestors for
me." Murdock got the glider situated on him. He then grabbed a couple
of cannons, which during this period in history were quite light and
small. He got a running start and jump off the hill's cliff. Mulan
closed her eyes, she couldn't bear to see Murdock if he fell to earth
and crashed like a kite. Murdock had great flying ability and with the
night's wind was able to stay aloft long enough to fly over the Hun's
heads. They didn't see Murdock since they had no idea that man could
fly. Murdock lit the fuses on the cannons and dropped them on the
unsuspecting Huns. The surviving Huns were startled and scattered as
fast as they could back to their home. They thought the demons had
fallen out of the sky and any army that could call up the demons were a
force to be reckoned with. Shang's army chased after them.
Murdock meanwhile had landed safely on the snow. He just had the wind
knocked out of him and was otherwise all right. Mulan ran up to him and
bowed to him.
"Oh Murdock. You are a hero to us all." Mulan then hugged him and gave
him a peck on the cheek
"Ah shucks, ma'am. Weren't nothin." Murdock did his best John Wayne
imitation. Shang and the rest of the army came up and congratulated
Murdock also. They were all talking to Murdock, but he didn't hear any
of their words. He was hearing voices in his head. They were not his
voice, but the voices of people he had forgotten.
Mulan looked at Murdock and had concern on her face. Murdock looked as
though he was in a trance. She called to him, but he didn't hear her.
"I…I must go Mulan. I have to go back." He said dazed.
"Go back? Back where? To your village, Murdock?" she asked.
"I…I don't know for sure. I have to go back to my friends. Yes, that's
it. My friends are calling my name. They sound concerned." Murdock
looked down at his hands. "I can even feel them touching my hands.
Mulan, I’m sorry I can't stay. I must go. I must go."
******************************************************
V.A. hospital. 11:05 a.m.
Hannibal was on one side of Murdock holding his hand and BA was on the
other side of him. They were all calling his name and trying to
convince him to come back from where ever he was. Face kept a lookout
at the door.
"Murdock, come on. Come back to us." Hannibal kept repeating over and
over to Murdock.
"Yeah, you crazy fool. Get back here before I get real angry with ya."
BA had the look of worry in his eyes. He most of all missed Murdock.
Though he would never admit as much.
Suddenly Murdock opened his eyes. "Ah, you guys missed me?" Murdock
smiled widely.
"No way you crazy fool. What happened to you anyway? BA dropped
Murdock's hand and stood up.
"You don't fool me, big guy. Nope, not at all." Murdock tried to sit
up, but laid back down feeling dizzy.
"Guess I must have hit my head on impact."
Hannibal had also let go of Murdock's hand and Face came over to welcome
him back too. "Murdock, you do remember the accident then?" Face
asked.
"Of course I do. It just happened an hour ago. I crashed my kite."
Hannibal, BA, and Face just looked at him dumbfounded. "I think you
better lay here just a little bit longer." Hannibal stated. He looked
concerned at Murdock. "I still think you haven't fully recovered. Now
that we know you're all right, we better get going before Decker finds
out we're here."
"Hannibal, I have a lot to tell you. I was in China fighting the Huns.
It wasn't a dream I was really there!" Murdock tried convincingly to
tell them.
"Shut up, fool!" You ain't been anywhere except in you're crazy mind."
BA started to leave. "Come on, Hannibal. Let's get out of here before
he makes us all crazy like him."
Hannibal too got up to leave. "He's right. We should leave and let you
get your rest. We'll be back tomorrow to see how you are.
As they were leaving, Murdock called out to them. "It wasn't a dream.
I was really there. Wait…Colonel? Well you believe me don't you Billy?
Yeah, good boy. I knew you would. I wish you could have been there."
Murdock closed his eyes and hoped his dreams would take him to another
far away place.
The End
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