Title: Freaks

By: Junkfoodmonkey

Rated: PG13

Summary: A hotel owner being harassed by a family of bullies hires the A-Team. But the more they investigate the more it appears that there are much more sinister things happening in the town.

Disclaimer: The A-Team don't belong to me, I'm not making any money from this.

Freaks

Chapter 1: Mike

"Coffee, guys?" Hannibal offered from behind the counter of the diner.

"Coffee? Sure. It's nearly one a.m., it's not like I was planning on sleeping or anything tonight." Face replied. Hannibal ignored the sarcastic tone and poured two cups of coffee. He took them to where BA and Face were sitting at a table. Then he grabbed a broom and started sweeping up. The lights were turned off except over the table where Face and BA were sitting. Anyone looking through the windows would see a diner closing down for the night. Two late customers and a man in an apron sweeping the floor.

"You got the information on the client?" Hannibal asked, moving the dust around with his broom.

"Yeah." Face said, opening a folder on the table. "Michael Harper, born 1947, in Sacramento. Grew up in a state home till age ten, when he was adopted." He frowned a little. "His records get a little sketchy after that, seems to have moved around a lot. Went to lots of different schools. Never served in the military. In fact wasn't even in the draft, which you have to wonder about." BA scowled at that.

"Medical grounds." Hannibal said. Face looked at him curiously.

"What? Is Mr Lee taking a medical history now too?" Face asked. Hannibal wasn't forthcoming with any more information so Face went on. "Married in 1968, one kid, born 1970. Wife died a year ago."

"Nice thorough job, Face." Hannibal said.

"I'm not done." Face said. "Six months ago bought a hotel in Lucasville, out near Bridgeport." The other two were looking at him expectantly. "Er, that's it." Face said.

"No sign of any connection to law enforcement?" Hannibal asked.

Face shook his head. "Nothing, no police, or FBI. There's a few gaps in his history I'm not too happy about, but I think he's clean."

"So does Mr Lee." Hannibal said. He smiled as he saw the look Face and BA exchanged. They always gave each other that 'he's losing it' look when he referred to Mr Lee in the third person. "Okay, he should be here in about five minutes." Hannibal said, checking his watch. "BA, go out back and check for any sign of Lynch."

"Right." BA went to check the rear. Hannibal moved back behind the counter. Face sat at the table looking casual, but watching the door through the mirror behind the counter. At exactly ten past one the door opened. Face frowned. The door closed again, but he hadn't seen anyone come in. He heard footsteps on the linoleum floor.

"Mr Harper?" Hannibal said. Face twisted in his chair and saw that the man who had come in was less than four feet tall. Harper stopped in his tracks when Hannibal addressed him by name.

"You know who I am?" He asked.

"Who sent you here?" Hannibal asked in return.

"Mr Lee," Harper replied. He glanced over at Face, looking rather nervous. "He said to tell you the password is 'swordfish'."

Face rolled his eyes. "Swordfish? Hannibal, have you been watching Marx Brothers' movies with Murdock again?"

"Hannibal?" Harper said, "You really are the A-Team?"

"In the flesh." Hannibal said. "I'm Hannibal Smith. This…" he waved a hand at Face "…is Templeton Peck." Harper went towards the table, offering his hand to Face. Face felt slightly flustered as Harper approached him. His instinct was to stand up, but he would feel awkward towering over the small man. On the other hand it seemed like bad manners to shake hands while sitting down. He made the decision and stood up, shook the small hand that was offered and then sat down again quickly.

"BA, anything out back?" Hannibal asked over his walkie-talkie.

"Nothing." BA's voice crackled over the radio.

"Okay, come on in."

Hannibal poured two more cups of coffee and brought them to the table, put them down.

"Good to meet you, Mr Harper," he said, shaking hands, with none of the awkwardness Face had displayed. BA came in from the back. "This is BA Baracus," Hannibal said. "BA, Michael Harper." BA stared with surprise for a moment, and then controlled his reaction.

"Uh, pleased to meet you, Mr Harper," BA said, bending down slightly to shake hands.

"Please, call me Mike," Harper said. He hadn't displayed any of the usual surprise people did when meeting BA. The sergeant's feathered earrings, gold jewellery and somewhat bizarre haircut seemed to make no impression on him.

"Sit down, Mike." Hannibal said. "Have some coffee and tell us what we can do for you."

They sat around the table. Face had another awkward moment as Mike got onto the seat next to him, wondering if he should help him up.

"You explained to Mr Lee that you're having a problem with your hotel." Hannibal prompted.

"Yes." Mike said. "As soon as I moved into town I started getting harassment. Mainly from three brothers and their cronies. The Heinemann brothers."

"What's their beef?" BA asked.

"Well, I've been told that a friend of theirs was hoping to buy the hotel. I guess I put in a higher bid. So maybe they want me out so he can buy it." He shrugged. "Or maybe it's just because I'm different. I've met plenty of jerks who don't need any more reason than that to have a go."

Hannibal nodded. "The hotel isn't open yet, right?"

"No," Mike confirmed. "The place is pretty run down, needs a lot of work." He put down the coffee cup. "And the Heinemann brothers are trying to make sure that I can't get that work done. Anybody I want to hire in the town, carpenters, decorators, whoever, is told not to work for me. I have to bring in firms from the next town, even the next county. And this is before I even start trying to hire staff for the place once it opens."

"What about the law?" Face asked. "Can't the Sheriff help you?"

"Guess what the Sheriff's name is," Mike said.

"Ah," Face nodded.

"He's their cousin. The Heinemann family pretty much run the whole town."

"Sounds familiar." Face said.

"I've tried to resolve things with them. I even went to speak to their mother, see if I could appeal to her to get them to leave me in peace. She seemed like a nice old lady, she said she'd do what she could, but it hasn't helped."

"Sounds like these guys need a lesson in being good neighbours." Hannibal said.

"Yeah." BA said. "A real hard lesson." He slapped one fist into the palm of the other hand. Mike looked at him a little nervously.

"I never wanted it to come to this." He said. "I've always tried to teach my son that it's wrong to use violence to solve your problems. Though…" he gave a wry smile. "That does contradict my own experience, that some people are very much improved by the application of a good kicking."

Face choked on the coffee he was drinking and Hannibal grinned.

"Yeah, that's been our experience too," he said.

"So that's why I've come to you. I can't fight these men, but I don't want to give up the hotel. It's a good location, it could do really well."

"Speaking of that," Face said, there's the sma… the matter of payment."

"I have some cash." Mike said. "And I've heard that in the past you've taken a cut of your client's business profits as payment too. Could we work out something like that?"

"Well…" Face began.

"Yeah." BA said, firmly. "That sounds fine."

"BA…" Hannibal began.

"I said, that sounds fine." BA repeated glowering at Hannibal and Face.

"Okay. We'll work out the fine details later." Hannibal said. "Don't worry, Mike, we won't rip you off."

"So you'll do it?" Mike said, smiling.

"Yeah," BA said. "You just hired the A-Team."

"And what if the hotel isn't a success, BA?" Face asked from his seat in the van. "If the place goes under we're left with ten percent of nothing."

"Don't matter. We gonna help the little guy." BA said. Hannibal glanced over at the fierce scowl on BA's face.

BA was driving Hannibal and Face home. Hannibal had told Mike to head on back to Lucasville and that they'd meet him there within forty-eight hours.

Face gave a scowl to match BA's. He seemed to forget about the money issue as he thought about the case.

"Well I for one can't wait to get my hands on those creeps." He said. "Think they're tough, picking on a guy who's three and a half feet tall. Yeah, real tough." He sneered the last part.

"They gonna get a lesson in pickin' on someone they own size." BA growled.

"Face," Hannibal said. "Get Murdock out of the VA in the morning. Then we'll pick up supplies and head out."

"Aw, man." BA said. "Not the fool. Why do we need the fool? We ain't flyin'."

"Well you never know, BA. I mean it's amazing how often a helicopter turns up when we happen to have Murdock with us…"

"A bone marrow donation?" The VA nurse asked. Face, in a white doctor's coat, stood at the nurse's station as she checked the forged transfer papers. She frowned. "Again? This is the sixth time."

"Inspiring isn't it?" Face said, "the selflessness of the man. He has so many problems of his own yet he's prepared to give of his very essence to help others. It's quite humbling to contemplate." He wondered if that was a bit rich, but she seemed to like it when he garnished it with a smile.

"Well Murdock is a nice guy." The nurse said. "It's this way." She led Face, who was pushing a wheelchair, towards Murdock's room. "Isn't it rather unusual that he's a match for so many unrelated people?"

"Very," Face said. "It's a phenomenon. He's a medical miracle. In fact they're going to write up a study of him in the New England Journal of Medicine."

"Really?" She was still eating it up with a spoon. Face felt sure when Murdock came back he was going to be her favourite patient for a while. Murdock was ready when they arrived, as Face had called him earlier. He had his suitcase all packed and got into the wheelchair, put the case across his knees. He took out a small plastic tub of liquid and unscrewed the lid. It was a child's bubble mix. He started to blow soap bubbles.

"I can't believe I'm gonna meet the bubble boy." Murdock said.

"Bubble boy?" The nurse asked.

"Yes, that's who’s getting Mr Murdock's bone marrow. Surely you saw the piece in Life?" Murdock blew more bubbles; Face waved one away from his nose. "Not those sort of bubbles, Mr Murdock." He said, in a slightly too loud, patronising voice. "Yes, that boy will have a whole new life thanks to him." He patted Murdock's shoulder. They were at the elevator now. Face glanced around slightly nervously. Getting off the floor was always the most nerve-wracking part of these capers. After that it was usually plain sailing. The elevator doors opened and Face wheeled Murdock inside.

"He should be back in about two weeks," Face said. "He'll need plenty of rest and good food."

"Oh, he'll have anything he wants." The nurse said reassuringly.

"Thank you, nurse." Face said as the door closed.

Murdock glanced up at Face and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Think she meant that part about 'anything he wants'?"

The van was in the VA parking lot and Face and Murdock got aboard. Murdock stashed his suitcase in the back.

"How'd you get him out this time?" Hannibal asked.

"He's giving a bone marrow donation." Face said.

"Again?" Hannibal asked. "How many times is that? They're gonna catch on, Face."

"Yeah," Murdock said. "I can't have more than an egg cup worth of the stuff left. It's no wonder Billy doesn't even try to chew my leg any more."

"Ain't no dog," BA muttered, in an almost Pavlovian reaction to the mention of Billy.

"Murdock, don't talk nonsense," Face said. "For one thing you don't run out of bone marrow. And for another, you haven't actually given any bone marrow anyway."

"So what's your point, Face?" Murdock asked.

"Well there must be another reason why Billy won't chew your leg. Have you started using different soap lately?" Murdock at once looked very thoughtful. BA looked very irritated.

"Ain't no dog, Face. You as crazy as he is." He drove on for a while, and then snapped, "And quit blowing bubbles in my van, fool!"

Chapter 2