As the sun set over LA, the A-Team loaded up the van with gear from their storage unit. Hannibal had made the decision that they could use a little R&R right now. Some time apart for LA and the A-Team. Or specifically, the LAPD and the A-Team.

The only person not lifting anything was Face. He sat on the workbench, feet dangling, reading the special edition of the LA Courier Express. His photo was on the front again, but quite a small one this time compared to the larger picture of Amy, the larger again picture of Nathan Saunders and the frankly huge picture of Colonel Decker. The paper must have used a file photo provided by the Pentagon, since Decker wore his dress uniform. Face wondered if he'd have to assign a clerk to deal with his fan mail.

"Imagine, of all the people to come out of this as the hero, it's Decker," Face said to Murdock as he walked past with an armful of clothes.

"Imagine, after all these months of calling him an idiot, Amy gets to make him the man of the moment."

The story had a touch of exaggeration here and there, but hell, why not let Decker get his moment in the sun if it helped take the heat off them for a while? The cops still had plenty to straighten out and Face probably still figured in those plans until they were sure they had the story clear.

So Face approved of Hannibal's idea to get out of town. Decker would be tied up for a while with the case. They could almost relax; deal with the new shape of the team. Buy an extra one of everything to accommodate Murdock.

BA picked up a box, then groaned and put it down again, rubbed his back.

"You okay, BA?" Face asked.

"Feeling that fall down the stairs now," BA said and Face nodded. He understood that. He'd had no time to even think about the pain last night. Then this morning, he'd woken up barely able to move.

"Know what you mean." He frowned then, something coming back to him from that moment. "Um, BA, after the fall, did I threaten to break every bone in your body?"

"Yeah..." BA looked embarrassed, as if ashamed he hadn't made Face pay for that. "Well, you seemed to have a lot on your mind. I let it pass." When Face started to smile BA scowled at him. "You helping here?"

"In a second." Face turned to the front page again. That small picture of himself was part of a row of pictures of men whose cases the DA had begun to review urgently. Their lawyers demanded retrials and bail. And it made Face smile to think of a bunch of wealthy and powerful men, who could soon owe their liberty to the A-Team. Always nice to have friends.

He moved on to reading about Saunders's background. "Us", he'd kept saying, and Face had hated the word, but it was accurate. His service dates almost matched up with Face's own.

"He was a POW," Face said, making the passing Hannibal stop and look at him. "Just like us. Special Forces, just like us. And he was in the VA psych ward for a couple of years in the late seventies. Just like --"

"He was not like us," Hannibal said. "Yeah, all those things are just like us, but he had something else, something different that made him a monster. Combat and torture didn't make him into that, Face. Suffering didn't make him into that. Or else the world would be full of monsters."

"Madness? Is that the extra something?"

"No," Hannibal said, and they both glanced over at Murdock who wore four hats from one of the disguise boxes, piled one on top of the other. "Madness is only part of it. You know that too."

Face nodded, but didn't answer. I guess there's another difference too, I have something he didn't have. I've got these guys.

"Hannibal, we gonna be okay? Is he gonna be okay?" Still looking at Murdock.

"If a problem comes up, we'll deal with it."

He took the paper from Face and looked at the front page. "I think we should get this framed. I think it will turn out to be Amy's biggest story ever."

"It just might be her last."

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Amy sat at her desk with her head pillowed on her arms. She wasn't asleep quite yet, but she certainly didn't think she would make it all the way to her apartment without sinking to the floor on the way and spending the next twelve or fourteen hours there.

There was a little hotel around the corner, but... well no hotels, not for a while if she could help it.

"Amy."

Marge's stern voice snapped Amy back to life. She sat up and made a feeble attempt at a smile. It didn't seem to go across too well.

"You look like crap."

"You should have seen me this morning." At least now Amy had cleaned her face, showered in the women officers' locker room at the precinct and had changed into fresh clothes.

"The cops want to talk to you again."

Amy nodded. She'd been allowed to go while the cops were busy questioning Saunders. However, Turner had said he'd call her back for more questioning as soon as he was ready for her.

If she'd been smart, she'd have headed home to rest. But of course she took a cab straight to the office and within fifteen minutes had a copy editor typing up as she dictated, a half dozen researchers digging up background and Eldredge yelling on the phone to get the presses ready for a special edition.

That special edition had gone out two hours ago. Since then she'd been trying to muster the strength to go home. She wanted to soak in her tub for at least three hours and sleep for a day or two. There'd be some crying involved at some point too, but harder to schedule that.

"It's a good story, Amy," Marge said, looking at a copy of the paper.

"Thanks." Amy produced a more convincing smile this time.

"But in the end, I have to say I'm disappointed in you."

Amy's face fell.

"You made that choice I talked about. You became part of it."

"I was on the inside," Amy said, feeling defensive.

"Yeah, you were. But not just to get the story."

No, it wasn't. "Well, you don't need to worry about that any more." Decker wouldn't go after her, and he'd even agreed to lay off the team, for a while, since he'd be busy anyway. In return, she'd given her word that her association with the team had ended. She got to give the evidence to send Saunders down for life, Decker got to be the hero. All neat and tidy.

"It is a good story." Marge looked at the front page again. "Good to finish on a high."

Amy sighed, didn't have the strength left for a stronger reaction.

"So, I'm being fired?"

"Fired?" Marge laughed. "Don't be an idiot. You're being promoted."

"What?"

"Don't ask me. I'd have shaken your hand, said 'good story' and then tossed your butt on the street, but you can't be fired, with a story like this under your belt."

Amy frowned, suddenly recalling an opening she'd heard people talking about, a job she'd not really been interested in. Then everything changed.

"Foreign correspondent?" She couldn't even remember which country it had been for.

"That's right. Tomorrow morning, go to the Indonesian consulate. You're going to need a visa."

"Right. Thanks, boss. Oh!" She thought of something suddenly. "Who's getting my job?" When Marge shrugged, Amy went on. "That intern, Will, in the archives. He's got what it takes."

Marge nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, go home, get some sleep. Oh, and do something about your hair. Seriously."

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With their gear loaded, the team drove out of the storage facility and headed for the freeway. Hannibal looked in the back to see Face and Murdock there, both reading copies of the paper now.

Interesting thing about a team. It could have a core, but that didn't mean it couldn't change. Back in Vietnam for a while, he'd thought they couldn't be the team without Ray. But Ray moved on and yet they were still the team. And for a long time they'd been the team without Murdock, before they started bringing him along again. Then Amy had arrived. He knew from the start she'd be temporary, that they were a stepping-stone for her. Nevertheless, she'd brought something, a new vibe, had helped them change some things.

Now Amy had gone, but Murdock was along for good. And they'd have to work out some things all over again, how to get along together on a permanent basis. Missions were one thing, but they weren't on a job every day. Murdock would have to figure out what he did in-between times. He and Face would probably get his heads together on that one. Face might worry about Murdock being out of the VA permanently, but those two had been a double act for a long time. They'd have all kinds of ideas to fill in their time.

"We're coming up on the freeway," BA said. "Which side you want me to get on? Where are we going?"

Hannibal looked back at Face and Murdock.

"Any preferences?"

"Wisconsin," Face said at once. Hannibal frowned at him, not understanding. "A town called Green Creek. It's where Celia came from." His voice dropped lower. "I thought, well, I should take the time to get to know her better."

Murdock reached across and put his hand on Face's arm for a moment, making Face smile at him. Hannibal nodded and turned back to BA.

"BA, get us on the interstate. We're going to Green Creek, Wisconsin."

"That's a heck of a long drive," Murdock said. "Maybe we should --"

"Don't even think about it, fool!"

Hannibal laughed. "No, Murdock. I think a nice long road trip is just what we need right now. Got a lot of stuff to work out. Right, Lieutenant?"

Face looked back at him and nodded.

"Right, Colonel."