Contrails
By Leia Fee

 

Murdock lay on his back on the V.A. lawn.  He'd been watching the plane contrails overhead but he'd been silent so long that Face was starting to suspect he'd fallen asleep.  He started up from the bench to check but Murdock spoke before he was fully on his feet and he sat back down.

"Face?  D'you ever just sit and think about everything we've done?" He waved on hand vaguely.  "People?  Places?"

"Occasionally," Face answered in a noncommittal tone.  Very rarely actually, he admitted to himself.  Introspection and reflection on the past wasn't a large part of his personality.  He'd worked hard to make sure of it.  To his mild relief Murdock didn't seem inclined to press for a more complete answer and continued talking.

"Guess I get more time to think about it.  I mean, sometimes there's not a whole lot of entertainment round here, y'know?"  He grinned suddenly.  "I mean, I can't be the life and soul of the party all the time."

Face smiled back at him, reassured by the wide grin.  Sometimes it was hard to tell how Murdock felt about it somewhat unusual lifestyle and Face quite often found himself worrying about him.

"I've got a box under my bed," Murdock continued.  "Some of the people we've worked for sent stuff.  Letters, photos, newspaper clippings, that kind of thing."

Face frowned. 

"Murdock, is that safe?  It'd be a real treat for Decker wouldn't it."  He mimed opening and reading a letter.  "Dear Murdock.  Thank you for the help you and the A-Team gave us--"

"It's not like that," Murdock cut him off.  "Mostly it's just updates on how they're doing.  They wanted to show how things had worked out for them and I guess my address is the easiest to find."

Murdock grinned again but Face was still concerned.  Murdock was obviously untroubled by the letters and by the sounds of things it had been going on some time with no problems arising.  Even so, it was an uncomfortable reminder that of all of them Murdock was easy to locate.  They'd never bothered to conceal either his name or residence from clients and Face now worried whether it would have been safer.

 

Murdock sat up suddenly.  The contrail he'd been staring at had spread across the sky, indistinguishable now from the light scattering of clouds.

"Sometimes I wonder though if anything we do makes a difference.  Some days it seems like however many bad guys we knock down there's more waiting.  However many times we leave Decker standing he keeps coming.

"He's stubborn," Face agreed thoughtfully, then suddenly grinned himself.  "But so are we.  Hang onto your letters, Murdock.  We made a difference to those people didn't we?"

Murdock nodded slowly then bounded to his feet, his reflective mood vanished in a second.

"So where we going today then, Faceman?"

Face smiled.

"Well there's this couple upcountry who're having some trouble with the neighbours..."

  Illustration

 

Back to A-Team Fanfic