Dogs of War Will Rise

"I don't think help is coming like you think it is, Peck," the man holding the former army ranger hostage spoke upon entering the dark room, lit only by a small lamp hanging above from the ceiling. "You have a lot of faith in your teammates, but you shouldn't. You shouldn't trust anyone. You might have lasted longer."

"You don't know them," Face replied without raising his head to look at his unknown captor. "They're coming and when they get here, you're as good as dead. Tell me, who are you and what is it that you want with the security codes you stole from the security guards you killed?"

The man lowered himself into a chair seated across from Face so that he would be in Face's eyesight and chuckled, then answered, "Why I wanted those codes is of no concern to you, ranger. You look like you're in quite a bit of pain right now. Would you like me to inject you again with the dilaudid? It really does help with the pain."

Face glared at the man, who was nothing, but a blurry figure before him due to the agony he was in and the drugs in his system, and then coldly responded, "Go to hell."

"It looks like you're going to end up there first," Face's abductor replied as he read a text that came to his cell phone, then stood to open the door for another person, who cautiously walked into the room.

"You look like hell, kid," the newcomer stated as he stood over the ex soldier tied to a chair in the center of the room with a light in his hand so that he could see more clearly. "I'm sorry about this; not that you'll believe me in a moment."

Face finally raised his head to look toward the unrecognizable voice, then looked at him in confusion as he questioned, "Hannibal? What…?"

The A-Team's leader turned to the terrorist, who then handed the older solider the device he had used to download the codes onto, and spoke again saying, "Just as I promised. I return the security codes to you, in exchange for the $5,000,000.00 you stole for me as well as the very man who murdered my brother and made me the monster you see before you. I didn't think you would actually agree to give one of your own up."

"I'm doing so only because the rest of us will die, as will hundreds of thousands if I allow you to follow through with your attack," Hannibal answered curtly. "I couldn't come up with a plan good enough to stop you in time. I have no choice. I'm sorry, Face."

"Hannibal?" Face called out fearfully as the man he once admired more than anyone else walked out of the room again, leaving him behind. "Hannibal? Hannibal!"

"Face…?" the colonel suddenly called out as he gently shook his Lieutenant's shoulder, startling the younger man awake and causing him to jump, then he stared at Hannibal in confusion, not really grasping at the moment where he was. "Take it easy, kid. Are you alright? Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

The Lieutenant shook his head and realized then that he had fallen asleep and had only dreamt of the team's leader betraying him to save the rest of the team. Face stood from his chair and walked over to the surveillance equipment set up before him, then turned back to look at Hannibal.

Face finally said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Did I miss something?"

The old man shook his head and responded, "Not at all. Don't worry, we're all tired and you've been awake longer than the rest of us. Go and get some sleep. From the look of it, I'd say you could use it."

The Lieutenant replied, "I'm alright, I promise. I really don't mind staring at these screens a bit longer. Besides, I think Bosco would be grateful if it takes a bit longer for us to hand the surveillance over to him."

"You're probably right, but I want you to go and get some sleep anyway," Hannibal answered as he pushed his right hand man toward the door. "Are you sure you're okay, Face?"

"I told you, I'm fine boss," Peck responded, then walked away, leaving Hannibal behind to contemplate his Lieutenant's strange behavior.

A few minutes later, Murdock walked into the room and looked at their leader as he asked, "What's up with Faceman? He seems a little out of sorts this morning."

Hannibal continued to watch Face, who started speaking with B.A, while he replied, "Yes he does. Tell me, Murdock, has Face seemed off to you ever since we took down Pike and Lynch?"

"Actually, come to think of it he has been a bit on edge, but I don't think… I don't think that that has anything to do with our fight," the Captain answered as he scratched his head. "I mean, before the fight, Face was a bit worried that it was him who had come up with the plan instead of you, worried that we might fail and that it would be his fault, but everything worked out great, except for us still being on the run and having to work as soldiers of fortune just to make enough money to live and to stay ahead of those that are after us, who is practically everybody."

"Yeah, except for that," Hannibal responded as he turned back to look at Murdock. "No, this is something different. Face's plan was successful and none of us got hurt. I walked in on him having some kind of nightmare. Something worse is troubling him and he won't tell me what it is. I'm worried that if he doesn't get whatever it is under control, he'll end up causing trouble for us that we don't need."

Murdock looked at him oddly as he asked, "Are you sure that's what it is you're worried about? I may be crazy, but I know you, Hannibal. You're worried that he's in some kind of trouble."

Hannibal nodded and then replied, "I need you to help me keep an eye on him. Now, I'm going to go pull him away from B.A. I swear, I'm going to knock him unconscious if I have to in order to get him to sleep. I tell you, I'm glad that this mission is almost finished. Our neighbors should be having company any time now. Watch the monitors for me until I get back?"

"No problem, bossman," the crazy member of their team answered, calling out to him as Hannibal walked away.

Meanwhile…

"So, how are your efforts to get me out of here going?" Lynch spoke to an old colleague of his before he had joined the CIA while his wrists were chained to a table within a prison interrogation room, as his visitor sat across from him.

The man looked coolly at the man behind bars for committing treason and multiple counts of murder and responded, "We're almost there. You should be free by tomorrow afternoon."

Lynch smiled and replied, "Good, good. And how about everything else? Have you gotten everything I asked for?"

"I'll have it all by the time your free, as promised," Decker answered. "Remember, Burress, I've made you this deal only so that you can help me track down Hannibal Smith and the rest of his ridiculous team. You know them best and you know how they think and what their pressure points are. Don't think for a second that I am getting you out of here, for you. I'm not."

"You don't have to tell me twice," the former CIA agent responded smugly.