"One Clear Call"

Sunset and evening star
And one clear call for me!

Crossing the Bar - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Let us tell you the story of a man…

On the surface he was the epitome of a successful business man - he had a thriving company, a big house, everything he wanted, but an emptiness was growing inside and nothing filled it. He sat looking out the window of his penthouse office, idly tossing a very old and battered football into the air. Business was beginning to bore him. He never thought he'd admit this, even to himself, but the pursuit of money just wasn't enough anymore. Marriage obviously wasn't the solution - he'd done that three times already. Desperation had led him to try about every dangerous activity he could buy his way into. After not too long, those activities paled as well. He ran a finger along the scar on his arm, a souvenir from the time in the Caribbean when that shark almost got him. "And who would have cared if it had. Maybe not even me," he said to the empty room.

He stopped tossing the football and picked up the glass that was on his desk and drained it. Alcohol didn't fill the void either, but the numbness it gave helped him to present a facade of normality to the rest of the world. He picked the bottle up, tilted it to the light, and observed its nearly empty state. He tried to remember if it had been full that morning, but decided he didn't care.

He stood and walked over to the window. "What's wrong with me? What do I want?" He tried to put his finger on what it was that he needed. "A purpose to my life," he thought. "Something to make my life mean something." He limped away from the window and put the football back on its stand in his trophy case. He stared at his reflection in the display case glass. "When did I get so old?" he wondered. "The nuns were right - my "dissolute lifestyle" *did* finally catch up to me," he thought wryly. "Back in college I could stay out all night and still throw touchdown passes at the game the next day. Those days, I thought the glory would last forever. I was so sure about everything, full of purpose and plans for the future. And now…?"

He turned away from the display case and very carefully maneuvered his way to the liquor cabinet. "Maybe I should chuck it all and move to Montana. Or maybe a deserted island in the Pacific - someplace where there aren't *any* pressures." He slammed the door shut on the empty cabinet and sat back down at his desk burying his head in his hands. "If this is all I'll get from life … if this is all I'll ever be … if this is all I'll ever matter, maybe I should just check out completely. "

He jumped slightly when the intercom on his desk buzzed and his assistant said, "I have a Father O'Malley to see you, sir."

"Wait a few minutes and then send him." He quickly put the empty bottle in a desk drawer and started walking towards the door as Father O'Malley entered the office.

They shook hands as Father O'Malley asked, "How are you, my boy? I'm glad to call on you, but I'm sorry to come like this, unannounced, but I feel we should have a little talk. Now, I'll make this very quick. Yesterday, at the orphanage, I received a package marked "Urgent" and in the package was this little black box," he handed the box over, "and a letter and the letter said 'Please get this to Templeton Peck. Signed Leslie Beckthal' Do you know this Leslie Beckthal?"

"Father, where did this come from?"

"Ah, it came," Father O'Malley reached up and scratched his head, "it was postmarked Guyana, Ecuador. I have the little envelope here that it came in. Would you like to have it?"

"Yes…yes." He took the envelope from the priest and examined the return address and postmark.

"I hope I'm bringing you grand news."

"I'm not sure yet, but you sure got the old heart pounding. Thanks Father."

*************************************************

"You want to fly to Ecuador to rescue the sweetheart of Sigma Xi?" the gray haired man with steel blue eyes asked incredulously as he tossed the black box to Templeton. He sat on the corner of the desk. "I've never seen this side of you. Is she the reason your marriages failed?"

"She was the only woman I ever loved. She was wonderful. Fun…feisty…smart… she had this kind of an air of mystery about her, like underneath all that laughter there was something real secretive and precious to her. I found her mesmerizing." Templeton opened the box and softly touched the pin inside.

"What happened?"

"The end of my sophomore year I decided to give her my fraternity pin as sort of a pre-engagement gift. It was going to be a surprise. I went to her dorm to give it to her. Her roommate came down and said she didn't want to see me. I insisted. Finally, Leslie came down, she was starting to cry, she said she was sorry, but it wasn't meant to be and she had to be the one to break it off. When I asked her why she wouldn't answer - that was it no other explanations. The next day she left and I never saw her again."

"Was it another guy?"

Temp sighed, "She told me no, that it had to do with her and not with me."

"Did you believe her?"

"I don't know. I wanted to. But in any case, I let her go and got on with my life."

"So why *are* we going to Ecuador?"

"I'm not sure why, but something about this letter makes me think that something is wrong. She needs my help and I still need those answers she couldn't give me all those years ago." He stopped and looked intensely at his security advisor, "We?"

"Ecuador's a dangerous place. The hills are full of bandits and the federales aren't much help. What we need are some men who are trained for all types of operations. I know of a group from my time in the military who would be perfect for just this mission." His gaze fell onto the wastebasket filled with liquor bottles. 'And I have no intention of letting you go alone with the way you've been acting lately,' he thought.

"You're a Colonel. Pull some strings and get them."

"I'm a retired Colonel and it doesn't work that way. Besides, they're not exactly on speaking terms with the Army at the moment. They're very cautious and very hard to find, but if you're serious I'm pretty sure they'll help us. There's just one catch. You'll have to be the one to make contact with them. Because of my ties to the Army there is no way I could even get near them."

"So where do I start?'

"There's this Chinese laundry …"

******************

"This is the best place they've had me go to yet," Templeton Peck muttered sarcastically as he cautiously walked into a dingy diner in a seedy part of Los Angeles and sat down in one of the back booths.

An overworked waitress shoved a greasy menu in front of him and sullenly asked, "Do ya want any coffee or somethin' right away?"

"Coffee would be nice, thank you," he said to the waitress as he gingerly picked up the menu. He was still perusing it when he suddenly felt a presence. Before he could look up or react a huge black man slid into the booth next to him, shoving him up against the wall; two other men, in their mid to late 30's, quietly slipped into the other side of the booth.

"Mr. Peck, I hear you want to hire the A-Team?" Templeton looked over to see a man clenching a cigar in his teeth as he turned around on his stool at the counter.

"Mr. Lee told us about your problem and we've decided to help you. Let me introduce you to my team. The large man to your immediate left is Sergeant BA Baracus…" the man turned and growled. "Across from you are Captain HM Murdock, our pilot…" the man in the brown bomber jacket gave a small wave, "and Lieutenant Tim Dunigan…" the man across from Templeton gave him a big grin and nodded his head, "and my name is …"

"Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith," a gravely voice said a couple seats down from Colonel Smith. Peck watched as his security advisor took off his hat and turned to face the group.

"Decker!" Smith said as he gave a small gesture and BA went to stand behind Peck's security chief.

Smith turned back to Templeton and snapped, "And *you*. You were told to come alone."

"Relax, Smith, I retired. It's a good thing too, because I was going to be assigned to hunt you down and it would have made both our lives hell." Decker pointed at Peck, "I work for him now. Do you really think that I'd let him come to this part of town without a bodyguard? Where he goes, I go."

Smith exhaled a cloud of smoke, "Such devotion. I really wouldn't have expected it of you. Now about the travel arrangements…"

"I have several jets; I'm sure one of them would be sufficient," Peck offered.

"I ain't takin' no jets, man. BA Baracus dies before he flies," the dark man stated.

Templeton hesitated before continuing, "Uh, yes, well we could be in Ecuador in no time."

Hannibal turned and looked at him and repeated, " 'We?' We make it a policy not to bring clients along."

"Hannibal, but what about the time we…"

"Murdock, shhh."

"Or when we brought…"

"Murdock, that's enough."

"Or do you remember the girl…"

"BA."

The large man moved menacingly towards the pilot who scrunched down in his seat. "I remember now, Hannibal, we never bring the clients along."

"Well, I can be the first then," Templeton stated emphatically. "I don't have a picture, you don't know what she looks like and besides, I'll pay double for the privilege." He paused and stared into Colonel Smith's eyes. "I need to go."

The A-Team looked at each other and Hannibal conceded, "All right, you can come along. Meet us at your hangar tomorrow."

Peck nodded and started towards the exit with Decker following close behind. As they left the diner they heard BA arguing with Smith, "I ain't flyin' Hannibal. It ain't no use meetin' him at no hangar, cause I ain't gettin' on no plane…"

Peck looked over at Decker and said, "I hope you're right about these guys."

"They were the best combat team in 'Nam and have managed to evade the military for over 10 years. Don't let their unorthodox behavior fool you. They'll get the job done," Decker reassured his boss. He watched as Peck drove away. This was the first time in months that he'd seen his friend show any interest in anything but alcohol. "And maybe this trip will give you something to live for."

********************************

Five weeks later:

Peck looked around his office and sighed, "Here I am back again." He had been so determined when he came back from Ecuador that things were going to be different. He had stopped drinking and started showing an interest in his business that had been missing for years. But it wasn't enough. He had felt so alive when they had fought off the bandits and saved the orphanage. He had even made his peace with Leslie…Sister Theresa. Even the unexpected boat ride back had been enjoyable. The camaraderie between the teammates and himself had seemed so natural, almost as if he had known them for years, but when they came back they went their separate ways. Now he felt more alone than ever.

He got up and walked over to the liquor cabinet and reached out to open it. He stood with his hand on the door for a few moments, then abruptly turned back to his desk and dialed the phone. "Captain Murdock's room please."

"Murdock, this is Templeton Peck. I've been doing some thinking. Do any of you have retirement plans? … No? That's not good. I'd be willing to help plan out the Team's financial future. Can we arrange to meet somewhere?

**************************

Two days later - The Peck Estate

Murdock bounded along beside Templeton Peck and BA as they walked through the house to the back yard where Tim and Hannibal were already waiting. As they stepped out the patio door Murdock exclaimed "Wow, Temp! You sure do live the good life."

BA looked over at the pilot and growled "Shut up fool!"

HM made a face at the sergeant and skipped ahead to where Smith and Dunigan were waiting by the Olympic sized swimming pool.

"Are you sure you want to risk all this, kid? The military could make your life very difficult if you're caught helping us." Hannibal asked Templeton as he lounged by the pool.

"You need someone to handle your finances and plan for your future. You haven't done that well so far, most of your money has just evaporated away."

"What do you get out of it?" BA asked from his stool at the bar.

"What do I get out of it? You mean besides 10% of the take?"

"What!" the four men exclaimed in unison.

"Just kidding," he smiled disarmingly. "But seriously, Murdock was telling me about the jazz and … I think I've caught it too."

Hannibal stood and walked over to Temp and put his arm around his shoulders. "I like your style kid, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Now on to more important matters, do you know how to sing? I have a song I want to teach you."

**********************

And to the strains of "You are my Sunshine" we leave this story of a man. Please stay tuned for future stories twisting time and space in the Apocryphal Zone.

"You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

The End

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