Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Thirteenth February. Racino Pass.

Stringfellow Hawke shivered violently against the cold gust of wind and pulled his leather jacket tighter around him. He pressed closer into the wall of the mountain pass, huddled over the small fire he’d managed to light and rubbed his hands together trying to get the circulation moving in his pale frozen fingers. He was going to be lucky not to end up with frostbite, he grumbled to himself. His blue eyes darted to the more serious problem; the bloody wound in his leg where his attacker had knifed him. The wound was deep into the thigh and was still bleeding despite the makeshift bandage Hawke had rigged. He shivered again. He was losing too much blood. If he wasn’t found soon…he shoved the thought away. He would be found. Caitlin O’Shaunessy, his fiancée would have raised the alarm when the fishing group hadn’t made it back to the cabin at the right time. She and his surrogate father Dominic Santini had probably gone to get Airwolf. The technologically advanced helicopter had the surveillance capability to find him.

Caitlin was going to be worried, Hawke mused. He was due to marry the pretty redheaded pilot in two days and instead of being home at the cabin and helping with the last minute details of their wedding, he was lying injured on the side of the mountain. He frowned. He still couldn’t quite work out how it had happened. He guessed it had begun a couple of days previously when he’d returned to the cabin from a fishing trip with Caitlin’s father…

Eleventh February. Hawke’s Cabin.

‘Where have the two of you been?’ Caitlin turned from the pot she was stirring and greeted Hawke with a kiss as he slid his arms around her. Her blue-green eyes flickered to her father who was handing her mother the fish they had caught. ‘I was beginning to get worried.’

‘It looks like someone had a good day.’ Maggie O’Shaunessy commented holding the fish aloft.

Patrick O’Shaunessy grinned at his wife. ‘I had a lousy day but he,’ he pointed at Hawke, ‘he had a fabulous day.’ He shook his head in wonder at the younger man. ‘You are a genius with a fishing rod.’

Hawke shrugged. It had been odd sitting out on the lake all day with the man who would soon be his father-in-law; odd but good. Their relationship was improving in leaps and bounds, he thought.

‘Sounds like you had a good time.’ Caitlin murmured.

He hugged her tighter. ‘Yeah.’ His blue eyes twinkled at her. ‘You should have seen the one that got away from your father though.’

Patrick spun back to his wife. ‘You should have seen it, Maggie. It was this big.’ His arms extended to an improbable size.

Maggie rolled her eyes expressively. ‘Sure.’

Patrick turned to Hawke. ‘Help me out here, son.’

‘He’s right.’ Hawke agreed readily. ‘It was at least that big.’ His lips twitched. ‘Maybe bigger.’

Caitlin started laughing and soon even Hawke was smiling as Patrick continued to protest the size of the one that got away to his disbelieving wife.

It was an enjoyable dinner and as Hawke cleared away, he was pleased to see the happy smile lighting Caitlin’s face. Both of them had been a little nervous of her parents’ arrival a few days before. Apart from her elder sister Erin, Caitlin’s family had never seemed to approve of her relationship with Hawke. It had been a nice surprise to find that whatever doubts they still had, the O’Shaunessy’s seemed to have put them aside and accepted their daughter’s decision to marry Hawke. Her parents had even acquiesced to the couple’s invitation to stay at the cabin although the rest of her family were staying in a hotel near the Van Nuys airfield. During the last couple of days her parents had moved from polite civility to friendly warmth. Maybe, Hawke thought as he handed out mugs of coffee as they moved to sit around the fireplace, Dom had been right. The older man had always maintained that Caitlin’s parents just needed to spend time with Hawke and Caitlin for them to accept the relationship.

Hawke sat on the sofa next to Caitlin and slid his arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him. His fingers brushed a lock of red hair back over her ear and she smiled up at him. He smiled back. He couldn’t remember a time when he had been so content.

From the moment the friendship between himself and Caitlin had been forged in a jail cell in Texas there had been a sense of rightness about their relationship that he had never questioned. Their decision to move beyond friendship, to become lovers had only solidified the bond between them further. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if he ever lost her. He pushed the thought away ruthlessly. He had sworn not to let his fears of losing her like so many others in his life interfere with their relationship and it was a resolve he was determined to maintain.

‘You know that lake of yours is something.’ Patrick commented as he took a sip of the coffee.

‘You should see the rest of the mountain.’ Hawke said. ‘There’s a tributary stream further up that’s teeming with fish.’

‘Really.’ A speculative glint entered the other man’s eye. ‘How far?’

‘You have to take a chopper.’ Hawke said. ‘It’s not accessible by foot.’ He frowned. ‘It’s really an overnight trip.’

‘An overnight trip.’ Patrick repeated.

‘Don’t even think about it.’ Maggie warned wagging a finger at her husband.

‘What?’ Patrick said innocently.

‘What you’re thinking.’ Maggie rejoined. ‘You are not leaving us here organising the wedding alone to fly up a mountain and go fishing.’

‘We wouldn’t think about it, would we Hawke?’ Patrick denied.

Hawke let a small smile drift across his face. In truth, he wouldn’t mind getting away from the wedding planning and going fishing but given how much he had already left to Caitlin, leaving her to cope with the last minute stuff on her own didn’t seem right. ‘Maybe next time.’ He said.

‘Which reminds me,’ her father said incongruously, ‘what are the arrangements for the bachelor night?’

‘Bachelor night?’ Hawke blinked and shrugged. ‘Well…I…’ he gestured vaguely, ‘I’m not sure.’ The subject of a bachelor night had never come up.

Patrick frowned. ‘Dom does have something planned?’ Hawke’s surrogate father was standing as the pilot’s best man.

‘Actually, Dad,’ Caitlin murmured, ‘I think we’d all kinda forgotten about it.’

‘Well you and Erin have planned your bridal shower though, right?’ Maggie checked.

Her daughter’s blank expression told its own story.

‘You know a bridal shower is a tradition.’ Maggie said.

‘Like a bachelor night.’ Patrick added.

‘You should have a bridal shower.’ Maggie said to Caitlin.

‘You should have a bachelor night.’ Patrick insisted to Hawke.

‘OK, OK.’ Caitlin said laughing and holding hand up in supplication. ‘I think we get the message.’

‘Well, it’s a bit last minute with you getting married in four days but I’ll talk to Erin tomorrow and see what we can arrange.’ Maggie said. ‘With a little bit of luck we might be able to do something for tomorrow night.’

‘And I will talk to Dominic tomorrow and see what we can do for your bachelor night.’ Patrick concluded. ‘It’s not right a man getting married without one last night of freedom.’

Caitlin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at her father’s gleaming eyes. ‘Why do I get the impression you’ve got something up your sleeve?’

‘Because he does.’ Maggie said before her husband could reply.

‘You see what you’re going to have to put up?’ Patrick said to Hawke.

Hawke’s eyes settled on Caitlin’s. ‘I can’t wait.’ He murmured.

Caitlin smiled back at him and the conversation moved on to other aspects of the wedding. It was meant to be a simple ceremony in front of the lake with their closest friends and family but even so the multitude of things that needed organising still had the ability to take Hawke’s breath away. He was pleased that Caitlin hadn’t wanted a big Texan society wedding because he hated to think what it would have taken to organise. Not that he had done much, he thought with a mixture of shame and relief; Caitlin had pretty much organised everything except for the honeymoon. He’d taken full charge of that and he’d already decided it was going to be two weeks of pampering his new wife.

It was good she was getting a bridal shower, he thought as they all retired for the evening although he wasn’t too sure he wanted the bachelor night. The traditional male humiliation ritual had never appealed to him even as an innocent bystander never mind as the main participant. He sighed as he stoked the fire in the bedroom back to a cheerful blaze. Dom knew Hawke wouldn’t really enjoy bars and strip clubs; maybe the older man would talk Patrick into an evening of poker…

‘You know you don’t have to have a bachelor night if you don’t want to have one.’ Caitlin’s gentle Texan drawl interrupted his musings and he glanced over at her. She was already in bed waiting for him.

He smiled at her; she had developed a knack for reading his mind. He shrugged as he started to undress. ‘I’m OK with it.’

She raised an eyebrow at him sceptically. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’ Hawke slipped under the covers and pulled her the last few inches into his arms as she moved to cuddle into him. ‘Besides, Dom won’t let them organise something I’ll really hate.’ He hoped.

‘You’re right.’ Caitlin reassured him. She reached up and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. ‘Well we won’t have long to worry about it if it’s tomorrow night.’

He frowned. ‘You’re worried about the bridal shower?’

‘Do you have any idea what happens at a bridal shower?’ Caitlin asked.

Hawke’s lips twitched. ‘Thankfully, no.’ He stroked a hand down her back. ‘You know you don’t have to have a bridal shower if you don’t want to have one.’ He parroted back to her.

She smiled. ‘My Mom would never forgive me.’ She shrugged. ‘It’ll be fine.’ She hoped.

Hawke cuddled her closer. ‘Well I’ll guess we’ll find out tomorrow.’

‘Yeah.’ Caitlin agreed. ‘Tomorrow.’

There was silence.

Hawke sighed. ‘You still worried?’

‘Of course not.’ Caitlin automatically denied.

‘Yeah.’ Hawke agreed as he shifted to kiss her. ‘I’m still worried too.’

He was even more worried the next day when he walked into the Santini Air office and found Patrick huddled with Dom; his anxiety levels escalating when they abruptly stopped talking at the sight of him and Patrick hastily made his excuses and left.

‘You know that’s a sure fire way to make someone paranoid.’ Hawke commented as he headed for the coffee machine.

‘What?’ Dom said. His craggy face attempted an innocent expression and failed.

Hawke shot him a look before he finished pouring himself a mug of stewed coffee. ‘So what’s the plan for tonight?’

‘No plan.’ Dom said dismissively.

Hawke stared at him evenly and Dom sighed.

‘OK.’ The older man admitted. ‘There is a plan but you’re going to love it.’ He grinned at Hawke. ‘It’s a good plan.’

Hawke tried to ignore the sinking sensation in his gut and took a gulp of his coffee. Damn! He thought he could count on Dom to keep it simple.

Dom’s eyes lit up mischievously as he caught the worry the younger man couldn’t quite hide. ‘You know I can’t believe I forgot about giving you a bachelor night.’ He said leaning back in the office chair and folding his arms over his ample chest. ‘I organised your Dad’s when he and your Mom got hitched.’ He whistled. ‘Now that was a wild night. I could tell you…’

‘Michael’s here.’ Hawke interrupted with relief. He gestured at the white limo pulling up in front of the office window. Maybe the deputy director of the FIRM had an Airwolf mission for him, he thought hopefully; something that would necessitate him being away…

‘Good.’ Dom said.

Hawke spun back round to look at the older man, unable to hide his shock. Dom had never greeted the spy’s arrival with that particular word before. ‘Good?’

‘I asked him here to fill him in on tonight.’ Dom said. He gestured at Hawke. ‘You’re going to have to leave.’

‘Leave?’ Hawke asked blankly.

‘Well, it’s not going to be much of a surprise if you’re standing here listening to every word now is it?’

Hawke shuffled his feet a little. ‘I don’t mind it not being a surprise.’

‘Well I do especially with all the trouble Patrick’s going to.’ Dom said firmly rising to his feet. He harried the younger man out of the office. ‘The Ranger needs her rotors looked at. You can do that whilst I talk to Michael.’

Michael Coldsmith-Briggs stopped just outside the office door to give Dom the space he needed to shove Hawke through it.

Hawke glanced at the spy who was dressed as always in a smart white suit, with wire-frame glasses, a black eye-patch and a rosewood cane completing the slightly bizarre look. Hawke glowered at the open look of amusement on Michael’s face.

Michael brushed a finger over his moustache. His good eye twinkled at Hawke’s furious face. ‘Hawke.’

‘Michael.’ Hawke acknowledged with exaggerated politeness.

Dom gestured for the spy to enter the office and Michael gave Hawke a mock salute before he slipped past him and into the room. Hawke scowled and Dom waved him away from the door before he shut it firmly. Hawke stared at the wood for a moment before he stalked over to the Ranger, muttering under his breath as he went. Maybe he didn’t even need an Airwolf mission; maybe he should take the Lady for a spin…he sighed at a twinge of guilt. Whatever was going on, it was obvious they were going to a lot of trouble for him…he yanked hard on the wrench. Fine. He’d stick around and suffer through whatever it was.

Two hours later, Hawke’s resolve was almost gone. There had been a succession of what he could only describe as furtive visits to the Santini Air hangar by Caitlin’s male relatives. Enough was enough, he decided as Patrick sneaked into the office. Hawke jumped down from the ladder and marched over to the office. The door swung open as he was about to push it and he took a surprised stumbling step backwards.

‘Hawke, good.’ Patrick grinned at him. ‘Are you ready to head to the cabin?’

Hawke shoved his hands into the pockets of the beige overalls he was wearing. ‘The cabin?’ He checked.

Patrick nodded.

‘So what’s going on?’ Hawke asked.

‘You’ll see when we get to the cabin.’ Dom said cheerily ushering him out of the way. ‘Come on.’

Hawke frowned. ‘Isn’t it a bit early to close up?’

‘Let me worry about that.’ Dom said dismissively.

Patrick patted his shoulder. ‘You’re going to like this.’ He promised.

Hawke sighed and gave in with what little graciousness he had left. The ride to the cabin was made in almost total silence. Hawke had been firmly relegated to the back seat whilst Dom and Patrick stayed up front. He peered between the front seats at the clearing in front of the cabin as they came into land. Another helicopter was already parked on the landing pier and Dom had a tricky landing to put their chopper down next to it. They climbed out as the rest of their party made their way out of the cabin to greet them.

Caitlin’s brothers, Brian and Callum, led the way both carrying camping gear. They threw it at their father who stowed it in the back of the chopper. Hawke’s eyes warmed at the sight of his friend Jason Gifford, better known as ‘Doc’, as the bush pilot shoved a rucksack at him.

‘This is for you.’ Doc said grinning.

Michael brought up the rear, handing Hawke his own fishing rod.

Hawke looked questioningly at Dom whose gap-toothed grin couldn’t have gotten any wider.

‘Why don’t you tell him, Patrick?’ Dom said generously. ‘It was your idea.’

Patrick clapped a hand over Hawke’s shoulder. ‘For your bachelor night, Hawke, we are going camping up at that stream you were telling me about. Maybe do a little fishing in the morning.’

‘All of us.’ Dom added still grinning. ‘Even Michael.’ He slapped the other man’s shoulder heartily jolting the spy forward. Michael shot him a dirty look and rubbed his arm.

Hawke felt a slow smile start to creep across his lips. ‘A camping trip.’ He repeated. The other men looked back at him with pleased smiles. He felt the tension seep out of his knotted shoulders. He could handle a camping trip. His blue eyes met Dom’s. ‘Good plan.’ He agreed.

Dom nodded happily. ‘And don’t be worrying about Caitlin and the wedding plans.’

‘We have her blessing.’ Patrick stated not mentioning the hour of wheedling with his daughter, and the additional hour of negotiating with his wife, it had taken to achieve it.

Hawke rubbed his chin and glanced at the sky. They were going to have to get moving if they were going to make camp before it got dark. ‘So what are we waiting for?’ He said gesturing at the chopper. ‘Let’s get going.’

Thirteenth February. Racino Pass.

Hawke tightened his jacket around him as the wind brushed past him sharply. It was so cold on the mountain, he thought tiredly. His blue eyes searched the cloudy sky.

‘Come on, Dom.’ He muttered as he shivered violently. Where the hell was Airwolf? If he wasn’t found soon…the fire flickered with another gust of wind and his trembling fingers quickly added some twigs and leaves to feed the flames. He was so tired; all he wanted to do was close his eyes…he forced his drooping eyes wide open. Hypothermia. He was losing consciousness because he was too cold. His eyes drifted to his numb leg and the red stain on the bandage, on the ground beneath him. Or maybe it was the loss of blood. Either way, he thought stubbornly, he needed to stay awake…stay conscious. Dom and Caitlin would come for him. They had never let him down before; they’d always come through for him.

He needed a distraction. He’d been thinking about the day before and the run-up to the camping trip…his bachelor night. Hawke blew on his cold hands, rubbed them together. He needed a distraction like remembering the camping trip…

Eleventh February. The Campsite.

They had taken the chopper up to the top of the mountain. It was a beautiful clearing surrounded by tall trees and plenty of natural shelter. There was a view across the mountains and in the far distance they would swear they could see the smoke from the cabin meandering into the blue cloudless sky. The stream cut across the right side of the clearing; a wide, babbling torrent of water that poured over the rocks and rushed past them on its way to the lake. They made camp on the left side of the clearing away from the water and nearer to the shelter of the trees. It helped keep the sharp breeze away from the tents and campfire. The position of old campfire stones and fallen logs told of past trips and it wasn’t long before a fire blazed in the centre of their camp.

Darkness was swift and sudden at the top of the mountain and they watched the sunset with a hushed awe as they finished a simple meal. The firelight cast a golden glow over the assembled men and there was a comfortable silence broken only by the faint scrapings of the forks on the camping tins. Dom reached for the coffee pot and refilled the mugs which Patrick topped with a measure of whiskey.

‘To the groom.’ Patrick toasted.

They raised their mugs at Hawke who followed the gesture before they all took a drink.

‘To the bride.’ Dom added.

‘To the bride.’ They all toasted.

‘You know,’ Callum said, ‘I don’t think I know how you and my sister actually met.’

Hawke glanced over at Caitlin’s brother. ‘Cait hasn’t told you?’

‘No.’ Callum shook his head.

‘She’s never told me either.’ Brian, the eldest of Caitlin’s brothers, added.

‘Come to think of it,’ Patrick said slowly, ‘I haven’t heard the story either.’ He looked over at Hawke who was studiously staring into the fire and at Dom who was looking into the bottom of his mug avoiding everyone’s gaze.

‘I know I haven’t.’ Michael rubbed his moustache thoughtfully. The first time he’d met Caitlin had been shortly after she’d started working at Santini Air. Hawke and Dom had introduced her to him as a new addition to the air service without any further explanation. Of course, Michael had run a background check; he hadn’t been comfortable with the idea of having someone else so close to Airwolf. He’d discovered she’d been the police officer assigned to escort the body of a James Blake, one of Hawke’s wartime buddies, to LA and that it had been her last assignment before she went on a leave of absence. He had always assumed she’d connected with Hawke and Santini at the funeral and being an out of work pilot had wangled a job with them. Looking at the expressions on the faces of the two pilots he had a feeling he’d missed something. ‘Why don’t you tell it to all of us?’ He suggested.

‘Now that sounds like a good idea.’ Callum said raising his mug.

Hawke sighed. ‘It’s really not that interesting a story.’

‘Oh come on.’ Doc agreed. ‘How did the two of you meet?’

Hawke glanced over at Dom who shrugged at him resigned.

‘You might as well tell them.’ The older man said.

Hawke took a gulp of his coffee. ‘Caitlin was working as a Highway Patrol officer in Pope County when we met.’ He said finally.

‘You met Caitlin when she was in Texas?’ Callum checked.

‘Yeah, I thought you didn’t meet her until she moved to LA.’ Patrick said puzzled.

‘That’s what I thought.’ Michael added a little sharply.

‘So what’s the story?’ Doc asked seemingly oblivious to the undercurrent of tension. ‘Did she pull you over for speeding?’

‘I…er…well,’ Hawke gestured awkwardly, ‘I was kinda in jail.’

‘You were in jail?’ Patrick’s voice rose.

Doc’s eyebrows rose. ‘And you think this isn’t interesting?’

Hawke shot him a look that effectively silenced him. ‘Maybe I should start at the beginning.’

‘Maybe you should,’ agreed Callum laughing.

‘I had a friend called James Blake. He was a chopper pilot back in ‘Nam, same as me. He saved my life a couple of times back in the war.’ Hawke began. ‘Anyway, Jimmy ended up drifting after we came back and every couple of months or so, he’d call, usually wanting bail money or a favour.’

Brian nodded thoughtfully; he’d served in ‘Nam, had friends like Jimmy himself. ‘Happened to a lot of men.’ He murmured.

Callum and Patrick glanced across at him. It was rare for Brian to talk about ‘Nam.

Hawke nodded in agreement. ‘I never minded. Jimmy was a good guy. The war just screwed him up a little. Anyway, the day before I met Caitlin, I’d gotten a phone call from a friend of Jimmy’s. He explained that they’d escaped from the Pope County jail and Jimmy needed a rescue.’

‘So you headed to Texas to help your friend out?’ Doc clarified. He almost smiled; it was classic Hawke.

‘Yeah.’ Hawke gestured with his mug. ‘Only there was no sight of him. I headed into town to see what information I could rustle up…’

‘I stayed with the helicopter.’ Dom added and avoided Michael’s sharp gaze.

‘When I was having a quiet drink at the bar,’ Hawke continued, ‘the sheriff arrested me for having no ID.’

‘Are you sure all you were doing was having a quiet drink at the bar?’ Michael asked sceptically; he had known the pilot to start the odd brawl.

‘The sheriff had some kinda racket going on.’ Dom said supporting the younger man before Hawke could respond. ‘He’d catch drifters and sell them to a local landowner who’d have people hunt them.’

Patrick’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Did I hear you right?’

‘You heard me.’ Dom said. ‘I tell you this guy?’ He shook his head and whistled. ‘Real bad guy.’

‘He was a real mean son of a…’ Hawke checked himself. ‘He beat me up a little and threw me in jail.’ His eyes met Patrick’s across the fire. ‘The next day, Caitlin showed up.’

‘It turns out she’d seen the sheriff run Hawke’s friend off a verge out by the highway. Only the sheriff had pulled rank on her and forced her to leave Jimmy in his custody.’ Dom said.

‘She wouldn’t let it go though and came looking for him.’ Hawke added.

‘Sounds like Caitlin.’ Brian commented.

‘She came storming into the jail demanding to see Jimmy.’ Hawke shrugged. ‘I figured she was my best chance of getting out of there and managed to convince her to let me make a phone call.’

‘To me.’ Dom confirmed. ‘Only before I got the chance to go get him, the sheriff turned up.’ He caught Hawke’s warning stare too late.

‘The sheriff turned up?’ Patrick looked over the fire at Hawke.

‘Yeah, the sheriff turned up.’

‘So what happened?’ Doc demanded.

Hawke sighed and rubbed his chin. ‘He took Cait hostage and took me out to be hunted.’

‘Caitlin got taken hostage.’ Patrick yelped.

‘Only for a short time.’ Hawke assured him. ‘I got away from the hunters, found Dom and went back for her.’ His jaw clenched at the memory of seeing Caitlin in her small Highway Patrol chopper desperately trying to get airborne before the sheriff could shoot her down. ‘We got her out safely.’ He finished.

Patrick subsided. ‘Now I know why she’s never told me the story.’

Michael hid his face in his mug; he had a feeling Hawke had judiciously left quite a bit and didn’t want to alert Caitlin’s father to the possibility.

‘So you and Cait met in Texas.’ Callum stated. ‘I always thought it was when she’d taken that body of some dead guy…’ his voice trailed away at Hawke’s almost imperceptible flinch. ‘The dead guy…that was your friend wasn’t it?’

Hawke sighed and nodded. ‘They found Jimmy out in the desert.’

Patrick shook his head. ‘It sounds like you saved Caitlin’s life.’

‘We saved each other that day.’ Hawke allowed.

‘So you reconnected when Caitlin brought your friend back to LA for the funeral?’ Callum mused.

Hawke nodded. He wasn’t sure if he should tell them Caitlin had searched him out so he kept quiet.

‘Sounds like it was quite an adventure.’ Doc said. ‘Almost like the time we met.’

‘Ah that’s true.’ Dom said laughing.

‘Sounds like another story.’ Callum said reaching for Patrick’s whiskey bottle. He refilled the mugs and Dom topped them off with more coffee.

‘I’m not sure how much of it I can tell.’ Doc said glancing at Michael.

Michael shrugged. ‘I’m know I couldn’t stop Dom telling it even if I tried.’ He commented wryly.

Dom pulled a face at him before he agreed much to all of their amusement.

‘So?’ prompted Callum.

Doc gestured. ‘I have a place up in the Halynon National Forest…’

‘That’s some beautiful country.’ Patrick commented. ‘Good fishing.’

‘The best.’ Doc agreed. ‘Unfortunately this particular day, a group turned up needing a doctor; one of the men had been shot.’

‘During a raid where they had stolen a new kind of aircraft technology.’ Michael interrupted. ‘I sent Hawke and Dom into the area to find the group and recover the technology.’

‘Only they’d taken my friends hostage to force me to help them.’ Doc said. ‘I managed to get away and convinced Hawke and Dom here to help me.’

‘And we managed to recover the technology.’ Hawke concluded rapidly.

‘And save that British guy from being assassinated.’ Doc added.

‘I guess intelligence work is pretty exciting.’ Patrick commented with a greater understanding of why his daughter had gotten involved with it; Caitlin always had followed after trouble.

Michael said. ‘Most of the time intelligence work is…’

‘Boring?’ suggested Dom sweetly when Michael seemed lost for an adjective.

‘I was going to say routine,’ muttered Michael.

‘It’s hard getting my head around that Caitlin’s mixed up in all this kinda business.’ Patrick said. He was beginning to realise that Caitlin had kept them in the dark about quite a lot of her life and it saddened him to realise it was probably because she thought they wouldn’t be accepting of it in the light of their response to her work as a cop.

‘She’s very good at it.’ Michael said. ‘I’d offer her a permanent post if I thought there was any chance she’d leave Santini Air.’

‘Huh.’ Dom harrumphed. ‘She likes the company at Santini Air too much to think about leaving.’

‘Has to be the company,’ Hawke agreed readily, ‘it sure ain’t the money.’

The group chuckled at Dom’s outraged expression and the subject switched to other topics. It wasn’t long before they turned in with the expectation of an early start for their fishing expedition.

Hawke was the first awake the next morning. He’d chosen to sleep outside under the stars and he turned over in his sleeping bag to gaze up at the pale sky brightening with the weak early rays of sunshine. He stretched and yawned before letting his gaze move around the camp. Doc and Brian had followed his example and slept out. Both were still asleep on the other side of the campfire. There was no movement from any of the three tents beyond them; Michael’s was quiet, whilst there were competing snores from Dom’s and the tent Patrick had shared with Callum. Hawke eased into a sitting position and then noiselessly got to his feet. He headed out of the camp and walked a short distance further downstream to wash-up before he returned and started the chores. By the time Brian started to rouse, Hawke had the fire back to a cheerful blaze, a fresh pot of coffee on the go and was gutting the three large fish he’d caught for their breakfast.

Brian stretched and staggered to his feet. His green eyes took in Hawke and blinked. He headed over to join him by the stream. ‘How long have you been up?’ He asked in a low voice.

Hawke shrugged. ‘A while.’

He pointed at the coffee pot with his gutting knife. ‘Coffee’s fresh and these are almost ready for the frying pan.’

‘I’ll get one warmed up.’ Brian said. He caught the glint of the POW bracelet Hawke wore and hesitated. ‘I just wanted to say…about your brother. I still have friends MIA and I…well…’ he trailed off uncertainly.

Hawke’s surprised blue gaze met Brian’s. ‘It was a hard war for a lot of people.’

‘Yeah.’ Brian nodded. ‘It was.’ He sighed and headed back to the campfire.

The smell of the cooking fish woke the rest of the camp and after a companionable breakfast, they all headed downstream where Hawke claimed the best fishing would be had. Before too long they were all ranged in positions by the side of the stream waiting for the fish to bite.

‘Ah.’ Dom swallowed a gulp of cold beer. ‘This is the life.’

‘It is.’ Patrick agreed. His green eyes landed on Hawke who was helping Callum with his bait. ‘He’s a good man.’

Dom followed Patrick’s gaze. ‘Yes he is.’ He agreed. He hesitated. ‘You know he’ll do anything for her.’

Patrick’s smile widened. ‘You don’t have to convince me Dom. I can see he loves her.’

Dom gave a relieved sigh.

‘I understand you raised him when his parents died?’ Patrick asked casually. He hadn’t really had the opportunity just to sit and talk to Dom.

‘Raised is probably the wrong word.’ Dom laughed. ‘He and his brother were already pretty self-sufficient. His old man brought both boys up to be independent.’

‘His father was a pilot?’

‘Yeah. The best. That’s how he and I met. We flew together in the war.’ Dom smiled.

‘And his mother?’

Dom took a swallow of beer before replying. ‘Jane was a concert pianist when she met Alan. She was very talented. String gets his love of music from her.’

Patrick heard the reserve in Dom’s voice and gave an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrogate you.’

Dom accepted the apology with a wry smile. ‘I can understand. If I were Caitlin’s daddy…’

‘You’re a generous man.’

They clicked bottles.

‘I don’t suppose I could ask you one more question?’ Patrick asked hesitantly.

‘Sure.’ Dom agreed readily.

‘Have you written your speech yet?’ Patrick asked.

Dom looked at him bemused. ‘I didn’t think they were having speeches.’

‘I know that’s what they said but…’ Patrick sighed, ‘it doesn’t feel right seeing my little girl get married and not commemorating the moment.’

‘I have to admit,’ Dom said, ‘I was looking forward to doing one but…’ he shrugged, ‘if they don’t want it…’

‘Maybe we could surprise them with a joint speech.’ Patrick suggested. ‘Something short.’

Dom raised his beer bottle. ‘You’re on.’

Hawke sat down beside the older pilot and shook his head at the beer Dom offered him. He’d overheard much of the conversation between the two men although he figured he’d leave them ignorant of his eavesdropping. He knew Caitlin would be thrilled at the gesture of a surprise speech and he didn’t want to spoil it for them or for her. He glanced back down the stream. Michael and Doc were sat together discussing something; it wouldn’t surprise him if Michael were offering Doc a job, Hawke mused, but then he half-expected if his cousin, Matt, had been able to attend, Michael would have been offering the Navy SEAL a job. His blue eyes drifted further down where Brian and Callum were sat. The two brothers were laughing at some shared joke and Hawke felt jealousy bite at his gut as he remembered how he and Saint John had come up to the stream camping in years past. He sighed and got to his feet pulling on his jacket.

‘Where are you going?’ Patrick asked.

‘Camp.’ Hawke said succinctly. ‘Cait’ll be expecting us to have checked in by now.’ A noise caught his attention and his head cocked to the side.

Dom caught the action and sighed. ‘What is it? Another chopper?’

Hawke shook his head. ‘Plane.’ He frowned and pointed at the sky and a moment later they all saw the small aircraft lurch into view. The plane was headed straight for them. The steady stream of black smoke from its right engine left an ominous trail across the bright blue sky.

‘Mamma mia,’ muttered Dom shielding his eyes with his baseball cap. ‘He’s going down.’

‘Yeah.’ Hawke agreed tracking the path of the plane. ‘And he’s headed straight for us. Get down!’

They threw themselves to the floor, Dom instinctively protecting Hawke, as the plane flew low directly over them, missing them by mere feet. The stuttering noise of its one remaining engine filled the once peaceful clearing. Hawke looked up to see the plane shake as it lowered itself to the ground on the opposite side of the stream. There was a horrendous sound as its wing hit a tree. The last engine failed and there was a deathly silence.

Hawke was up and running, splashing across the stream, before he’d even stopped to think; Doc was at his heels with the others not far behind them. Most of them were pilots and knew there were only moments to get free of a plane crash if the fuel tank had ruptured. He grabbed the cockpit door and yanked hard, pulling it wide open. He stepped up on the wheel prop, boosted up by Doc to look into the cockpit. Two men looked back at him.

Hawke estimated both men were in their forties. One looked like a retired military man and sported the same buzz cut favoured by the Marines. His hair was silver and his eyes a pale dazed blue. The second man was smaller with olive skin. He was dark haired with brown eyes hidden behind a pair of unfashionable glasses and a nasty gash on his forehead. He was clutching a briefcase for dear life. They were both dressed for hunting but the second man wore brand new clothes as though this was his first time. Hawke helped both of them from the cockpit and the other men in his group helped them away from the plane wreck.

They sat them by the edge of the stream a safe distance away. Doc grabbed the first aid kit they’d brought with him and squatted down in front of the second man.

‘I’m a medic.’ Doc said. ‘Let me take a look at that.’ He cleaned the wound up and applied a small bandage.

‘Thanks.’ The dark haired man said.

‘Hey, are you guys OK?’ Dom said. ‘That was some crash.’

‘There’s no smell of fuel.’ Patrick said. ‘I don’t think she’ll go up.’

‘Pity,’ growled the ex-Marine, ‘worthless heap of junk gave up on us just as we got over the first mountain.’

‘They sometimes have a tendency to do that.’ Dom said sympathetically.

‘You’re a pilot?’ The pale blue eyes shot to Dom.

Dom gave a nervous laugh. ‘We all are pretty much.’ He gestured back upstream. ‘We’ve got a chopper back at the camp. We should get you boys off the mountain and get the crash reported to the authorities.’

‘Yes. The authorities.’ The dark haired one glanced over at his companion. ‘I guess we should do that.’

‘Let’s get packed away.’ Hawke suggested quietly.

Michael helped Hawke gather the fishing gear. ‘What’s up?’ He asked quietly.

‘My gut.’ Hawke said shortly. His guarded blue eyes flickered to the two men and then to the plane. ‘Something’s not right.’

‘I have a healthy respect for your gut.’ Michael said. ‘What do you want to do?’

‘Just watch them, Michael.’ Hawke muttered as they retrieved the last of the equipment.

‘Got it.’

They started walking single file back along the stream.

‘So,’ said Dom jovially trying to ease the tension that had entered the small group, ‘what are your names?’

‘Frank,’ stated the Marine, pointing at himself, ‘he’s John.’

Dom nodded and reeled off the introductions for their party.

‘Y’all on a fishing trip?’ John asked. He was still clutching the brown leather satchel for all he was worth.

‘Kinda.’ Dom said but didn’t expand. He gave a relieved sigh as they entered the campsite.

The chopper caught the attention of the two men immediately and they exchanged a look that had Hawke’s eye narrowing in suspicion.

‘You know,’ said John turning back to the group, ‘we don’t want to break up the party and it’s clear the chopper isn’t big enough to take us all. Perhaps we could just bother one of you to give us a lift to the…the authorities and then they could come back for the rest?’

‘It’s no trouble.’ Hawke said smoothly before anyone could accept the offer. ‘The authorities will probably want to take our statements anyway.’

Doc looked at Hawke strangely and slowly nodded. ‘That’s true.’ He nudged Callum who was staring at Hawke in surprise. ‘Come on, let’s take down that tent.’

‘I’ll help.’ Brian offered.

Patrick stared thoughtfully at the way Dom and Michael had ranged themselves either side of Hawke; his gaze slid to the two strangers. ‘Why don’t you fellas take a seat?’ He suggested pointing at the logs by the fire. ‘It shouldn’t take us long to pack up.’

‘Thanks for the offer,’ John continued politely, ‘but I’m afraid we’re going to have to insist on doing this our way.’

Frank pulled a gun and everyone froze.

‘Take it easy now.’ Dom said slowly raising his hands. ‘Just take it easy.’

Hawke raised his own hands equally as slowly as Dom even as he stared furiously at the two men. He judged whether he could kick the gun out of the guy’s hands and decided there was too much risk of it going off and shooting someone.

‘Everyone back where I can see them.’ Frank yelled. ‘Now!’

Brian, Callum and Doc left the tents and moved to stand next to the others.

‘Everyone on their knees, hands behind their heads.’ Frank ordered.

They all complied.

‘Can you fly the chopper, Frank?’ John asked.

The ex-Marine shook his head. ‘I told you; only planes.’

John sighed deeply. ‘Which one of you can fly this chopper to Racino Pass?’

Nobody answered.

‘One of you must know the terrain.’ John said. ‘After all, it follows that only someone who knows the area would know this was good fishing ground.’

They all stayed silent.

John sighed again and shook his head sadly. ‘Shoot one of them.’

Frank moved.

‘Stop!’ Hawke snapped. ‘I’m the only one here who can fly you up there.’

‘String…’ Dom started and stopped at a warning flash from Hawke’s icy blue eyes.

‘Good.’ John stated and reached behind him. He pulled a gun from the pocket of his jacket. ‘You’re coming with us.’ He gestured at Frank. ‘I’ll cover them. Search their equipment and trash anything that looks like a radio.’

Frank nodded. They heard him the sounds of things cracking and breaking before he returned. ‘Ready.’

‘On your feet.’ John ordered Hawke.

‘String…’ Dom couldn’t have prevented the name escaping his lips if he’d tried as Hawke staggered to his feet. His eyes held his surrogate son’s worriedly.

‘I’ll be fine, Dom.’ Hawke said with more confidence than he felt. ‘Just make sure…tell Cait I’ll be at the wedding.’

Dom nodded. ‘I’ll tell her.’

‘Touching goodbye scene.’ John said scathingly. ‘Come on.’ He gestured with the gun. ‘If anyone else says a word or moves until we’re gone, your friend here is dead.’ His brief look at the rest of the group effectively silenced them.

John climbed in the front of the chopper with Hawke; Frank sat behind him and held the gun to Hawke’s head.

‘You make one move I don’t like and your brains are going to be splattered all across the cockpit.’ Frank warned.

‘And don’t think of trying anything heroic.’ John warned. ‘I might not be able to fly one of these things far but I do know how to land one.’

Hawke stared angrily at him and checked the rotor speed. ‘I’m taking her up.’ He growled.

‘Take it nice and easy.’ John told him.

Hawke grasped the cyclic and raised the chopper from the ground. He glanced back at the worried faces of his friends, of the family he was due to join and swallowed hard on a rush of pointless emotion. He couldn’t think about them; they would be fine. Caitlin was bound to realise something was wrong and come looking for them. He was the one he needed to worry about, he thought grimly, because like in any hostage situation as soon as he wasn’t any use to his captors, he was going to end up dead.

Thirteenth February. Racino Pass.

Hawke could feel the darkness pulling at him, his eyes drifting shut and he shifted abruptly trying to keep himself awake. The movement jarred his leg and he cried out as the pain hit sharp and swift as the knife that had done the original damage. He took one shuddering breath than another. Where the hell were they? Why hadn’t they found him yet? It seemed like he’d been on the mountain injured for so long…for too long.

He shivered. The fire was almost out and he had hardly any kindling left to keep it going. Please, he thought helplessly, find me; I’m here. What if they weren’t coming? They were coming, he thought firmly, Dom and Caitlin were coming…they always did. His vision blurred and he shook his head to clear it. What had he been thinking about? That was right; he’d been thinking about the moment he’d left the rest of the group behind and headed out alone with the bad guys, Frank and John – if that had been their real names…

Earlier that day

Hawke ascended to a higher altitude in the chopper and checked his course. Racino Pass was a steep lookout post on the far side of the mountain range. Hawke knew the conditions were treacherous at that altitude even at the best of times. He wondered briefly what the two men were planning once they got to the pass. It seemed like a strange meeting or drop point but then they obviously had some kind of business there. He frowned. His time would be better spent thinking about how he got out of the mess he was in rather than trying to understand what the two guys were up to. Two against one wasn’t bad odds with the right opportunity; it was just finding the right opportunity. Sitting in a cockpit with two guns pointed at you wasn’t the right opportunity, Hawke thought, and he really needed to get out before they landed. If he landed when they got to their destination, it might very well be that they would then consider him surplus to requirements. A plan formed in his head and he went over it as he flew onwards.

The Pass was coming up directly in front of him and he caught the glint of something metallic on the side of the mountain; another chopper? He frowned. Maybe they were meeting someone else after all. He pushed the thought away. If his plan went well, it wouldn’t matter.

John nudged him and pointed at the other chopper on the ground. There was barely enough room for the two choppers to be parked side by side. It was a difficult landing. Hawke frowned and concentrated on manoeuvring into a solid position. He slowly lowered the chopper checking and rechecking his clearance. At the very last moment, he abruptly swerved away from the other chopper over the side of the mountain and as his captors slipped in their seats, Hawke grabbed the satchel from John’s grasp and jumped from the chopper.

He hit the ground hard and rolled, grateful for his stunt training as he slipped down the steep rock. He slid to a halt by a cluster of trees. The ground was frozen solid and he lost his footing time and again as he struggled to get to his feet and ran further down the mountain without looking back. He had somehow miraculously kept hold of the satchel in his fall. He came to a breathless halt when his lungs burned and he simply couldn’t run anymore. He slumped onto the ground behind a large bush and tried to work out where he was.

He figured he was maybe a couple of miles down the mountain from the Pass. If he was lucky, Frank and John would have been too busy trying to control the helicopter to notice which direction he had fallen in. If he was unlucky then he figured he wouldn’t have long before they found him because there was no doubt in his mind that they would come after him. He cursed the last minute instinct that had prompted him to grab the bag. His cold fingers pulled at the straps and he reached into the briefcase. Maybe whatever was in here would provide an explanation for what they were doing.

He pulled out a sheaf of documents. He frowned. It was documentation, fake but very good quality. His eyes widened at the picture on the passport and driver’s license. He recognised it. Toby Farland, an entrepreneur and successful businessman had disappeared two weeks before just as he had been about to be arrested for the murder of his wife; he could remember Caitlin handing him the newspaper article to read. Farland was obviously attempting to get a new identity and get out of the country. Frank and John were probably getting paid a ton of money and Farland probably had other muscle helping him with the exchange. Hawke hurriedly stuffed the documents back into the briefcase. He had to keep moving. He was about to start back down the mountain when a sound had him freezing into place.

‘I’m sure he fell around here.’ An unknown educated voice drifted over the trees towards Hawke.

‘He didn’t fall.’ Frank’s harsh voice was a contrast to his new companion. ‘He jumped.’

‘Maybe he didn’t trust you, Frank.’ The other voice teased.

Hawke scowled. Damn! Farland must have watched where he’d run to and sent Frank and this other guy after him straight away. He peeked over the bush and his heart dropped. Frank was already almost on top of him. He was going to have to take them on hand to hand. His mind made up; Hawke set the briefcase down, stilled into motionlessness and waited.

Frank was the first one to come around the corner. Hawke jumped out from his hiding place and karate kicked the gun out of Frank’s hand. Frank stumbled sideways but his reactions were good and he moved with amazing swiftness to tackle Hawke and send them both to the ground. Hawke grunted as a punch drove the breath from his body. He dislodged Frank and got the upper position, driving his own fist into Frank’s face again and again. The other man still grappled with Hawke and somehow got his hands around Hawke’s throat. Hawke could feel the blackness descending as he desperately grabbed Frank’s head and twisted. The crack of the neck was loud in the silence of the mountains. Hawke stumbled off the body and froze at the sound of applause.

A small blond man stood to the side clapping his hands. He was thin but muscled and the two steps he took towards Hawke put him in mind of a predator. There was a cruel sneer across the lips and the pale brown eyes looking back at Hawke were cold and lifeless. Hawke knew he was in trouble. Frank had been a goon; this guy looked like he’d tortured small animals in his spare time.

There was a snick of metal and Hawke saw the flash of light as the sun hit the switchblade. They circled each other warily.

‘It was a good move.’ The younger man said conversationally. ‘Jumping out of the plane like that might have saved your life.’

Hawke stayed silent; he doubted he had the breath left to make small talk.

‘Frank and John explained what happened.’ His opponent continued. ‘It was a most unfortunate incident.’ He raised the blade and examined it, running his finger along the knife edge. ‘Their plane crashing near to your fishing expedition like that.’ He tutted. ‘Like I say, most unfortunate.’ He sighed. ‘Mr Farland does so abhor violence.’

‘I’m guessing you don’t.’ Hawke said finally.

The man gave a facsimile of a smile. ‘Indeed. That’s why I remained behind with Frank to clear up his mess.’

‘Don’t you want your boss’ new identity?’ Hawke asked trying to stall him.

‘We have John.’ The smile was crueller. ‘All we need to do is eliminate you.’

‘Go ahead.’ Hawke said and spread his arms wide to give the other man a wide target. ‘What are you waiting for?’

The attack was fast; so fast, Hawke almost didn’t react in time. He blocked the blow with his right forearm and whacked his elbow into the guy’s face. Blood spurted from the nose and Hawke followed it up by grasping the man’s head and throwing him over his shoulder. He went to follow up with a kick but the other guy moved quickly, suddenly knifing Hawke in the thigh. He cried out but somehow managed to twist away at the last moment from a second thrust. He grabbed the man’s hand; it was wet and sticky with blood; his blood, Hawke realised. His hold almost slipped; once, twice. They were rolling on the ground now, each trying to shove the knife into the other. Hawke finally got a firm grasp and drove the knife home into the other man’s heart. He wriggled from under the body and crawled a few feet back to the bush. He greedily gulped in air as he undid his belt and slid it from the loops of his jeans. He fastened it tightly around the upper part of his thigh. It was a makeshift tourniquet that would hopefully slow the bleeding…the pain was tremendous but he blanked it out as he tore a strip from the bottom of his shirt. He tied it around the bloody wound and tried not to panic as it brightened with a red stain almost immediately.

He pushed his rising panic aside and tried to think past the pain. He had to get back up the Pass, he thought taking a steadying breath. Dom knew that he’d been headed for Racino Pass; all he had to do was get back to the Pass so they could find him when they came looking. He attempted to stand and fell back to the ground as the pain in his thigh bit deep. He breathed deeply and looked around him for something he could lean on. A fallen branch caught his eye and he managed to crawl over to it. He examined it and decided it was probably sturdy enough. He used a nearby tree for leverage and hopped on his good foot. The makeshift crutch took his weight and he began the slow walk back up the mountain. The terrain was slippery and uneven. He lost count of the times he fell and got back up. He was sweating and tired when he made it to the rocky path that led the way up the mountain.

Rest. He had to rest, Hawke thought tiredly. A sharp wind cut through his leather jacket and he shivered. He examined his leg. The wound was still bleeding. He’d lost a lot of blood. He wasn’t sure he could risk walking on it all the way to the Pass; he wasn’t sure he would make it to the Pass if he tried. He glanced about him. A nook in the wall of the mountain caught his attention. It was small but it might provide some shelter, some kind of windbreak. He patted the pocket of his jacket and reached inside. He pulled out a book of matches and gave a relieved sigh. He must have put them unthinkingly into his pocket after lighting the campfire the night before. He struggled to the nook, gathering as many twigs and kindling material into the inside of his jacket as he could. He fell rather than lowered himself to the floor by the mountain wall. It took him three attempts before he managed to get a fire lit and he huddled into his jacket by the flames. He stared at the sun. It was after noon. Caitlin would have realised something was wrong when they hadn’t called in and gone looking, he thought; she and Dom would get Airwolf and come for him. The thought strengthened his resolve as he settled to wait.

Thirteenth February. Hawke’s Cabin.

Caitlin looked into the blue sky unsettled at the harsh cry of the eagle; it sounded like something was wrong. Or maybe, she thought, it was just her mood. Her fingers tapped restlessly on the wooden porch railing and she resisted the urge to check her watch again.

‘Hey! Earth to Caitlin!’ Her mother’s voice finally registered and Caitlin turned to face her with an apologetic smile.

‘Sorry, Mom.’ She said.

Maggie took in the worry that filled Caitlin’s blue-green eyes and sighed. ‘Will you stop worrying? They probably just got caught up fishing and haven’t realised the time. You know what your father’s like.’

‘Maybe.’ Caitlin allowed. She sighed and folded her arms. ‘It’s just Dom said they’d check in this morning and they haven’t.’

‘There’s probably a dozen explanations why they haven’t.’ Erin, her elder sister, said taking a seat on the bench. ‘You’re just driving yourself crazy.’

‘I know.’ Caitlin slumped on the bench beside her sister. The fingers of one her hands twisted the fingers of the other nervously. ‘Maybe I should try radioing them again.’

Erin’s hand shot out to cover Caitlin’s. ‘They’ll call, Caitlin.’

‘In the meantime,’ Fiona, her younger sister, pointed out, ‘you’re acting like you can’t let Hawke out of your sight for a single night. What do you want to do? Scare the man away?’

Caitlin sighed. Fiona just didn’t get it, she thought grumpily. Caitlin had never known Hawke or Dom to miss a check-in if everything was OK. She got to her feet and made for the cabin door ignoring the look her family exchanged behind her back. ‘I’m going to radio them…’

The sound of a helicopter had her whirling back to look at the sky.

‘See?’ Erin said. ‘They’ve come back already.’

‘No…’ Caitlin said slowly as she shielded her eyes against the sun. ‘That’s not their chopper.’ She frowned. ‘It’s Marella.’

Caitlin hovered on the porch until Michael’s senior aide brought the chopper into land. Maybe the other woman had news…she hurried over before the rotors had even stopped turning.

Marella opened the cockpit door and jumped out. Both women caught the worried look on the other’s face at the same moment.

Caitlin crossed her arms again and bit her lip. ‘You haven’t heard from them?’ She asked.

Marella shook her head sending the dark curls flying. ‘No,’ she admitted as they began to walk back up to the cabin, ‘Michael missed a call with Angelina this morning on the satellite phone. I was hoping it was a glitch.’

‘I haven’t been able to raise them.’ Caitlin said anxiously. ‘My Mom and my sisters think I’m over-reacting.’

Marella laid a hand on Caitlin’s arm and scanned her freckled faze carefully. ‘What do you think?’

Caitlin took a deep breath. ‘I think they’re in trouble.’

Marella nodded. ‘Let’s try raising them again.’

Caitlin led the way into the cabin. Marella greeted Caitlin’s sisters and mother absent-mindedly too worried and too focused on following Caitlin for pleasantries. She watched as Caitlin checked the frequencies and clicked the radio on.

‘Base to camp. Come in, camp.’ Caitlin paused as they waited for a reply. ‘Base to camp, do you read me?’ She shook her head. ‘They should have replied.’

‘Do you know where they’ve gone?’ Marella asked.

Caitlin nodded, a lump in her throat; Hawke had taken her there soon after they’d gotten together as a romantic camping trip.

‘I think we should head up there.’ Marella said.

‘Don’t you think you’re both overreacting?’ Maggie asked looking from Marella’s tense expression and then to her daughter’s. She felt the stirrings of her own anxiety; what if they were right? What if something had gone wrong on the fishing trip? What if something had happened to Patrick or one of their boys? Her lips firmed. ‘I’m sure they’re fine.’ She wondered who she was trying to convince.

Caitlin reached out and took her mother’s hand. She had seen the thoughts race across her mother’s face. ‘I’m sure they are but I’m going up to check it out.’ Her eyes flickered back to Marella. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’ She headed up the stairs to the bedroom she usually shared with Hawke; the one he’d built for them when he’d extended the cabin. She opened the drawer on her bedside table and pulled out her gun. She checked the clip and reloaded the gun before slipping it into the waistband of her jeans at the small of her back. She pulled a jacket on concealing the weapon and headed back downstairs. ‘I’m ready.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ Maggie offered.

‘No, Mom.’ Caitlin shook her head. ‘You stay here in case they call.’

‘I’ll come then.’ Erin said.

Caitlin sighed and gestured at Marella. ‘Marella and I will be fine and besides, if they are in some kind of trouble, we’re both trained to deal with it; you aren’t.’

Erin nodded unhappily and squelched the bubble of jealousy at the obvious bond between her sister and the Hawaiian woman who was looking back at her with understanding in her dark eyes. ‘I guess you’re right.’

Caitlin nodded and before anyone else could say anything marched out of the cabin. Marella followed after her. They climbed into the FIRM’s all-white helicopter and moments later were airborne. Caitlin gave Marella the heading.

The atmosphere in the small cockpit was tense; both women fell silent quickly, lost in their own thoughts.

‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ Caitlin blurted out after a while. ‘We’re supposed to get married the day after tomorrow.’

‘You will.’ Marella assured her. ‘Even if they are in some kind of trouble, you know they’ll probably have gotten themselves out of it by now.’ Her own worry sharpened the words of comfort. ‘You and I will probably turn up and the action will all be over.’

Caitlin chewed her bottom lip. ‘I hope you’re right.’

‘Me too.’ Marella admitted as her dark eyes met Caitlin’s across the cockpit.

Thirteenth February. The Campsite.

Dom threw the portable radio he’d been trying to get to work for the better part of an hour on the ground in disgust. ‘It’s bust.’ He declared furiously. ‘I can’t fix it.’ He threw his hands up.

Michael rubbed his moustache and gestured at the other broken piece of equipment on the ground next to the pilot. It was the mangled remains of the satellite phone he’d brought with him. ‘What about the phone?’

Dom’s dark eyes glared at him.

‘I’ll take that as a no.’ Michael said.

‘This is pointless.’ Dom snapped lurching to his feet and thrusting a finger at the spy. ‘We need to do something!’

‘I know, Dom…’ Michael began.

‘String’s on his own with them,’ Dom interrupted gesturing wildly, ‘and he’s unarmed.’

‘He’s also the best operative I’ve ever known.’ Michael said forcefully. ‘He’ll be OK, Dominic.’

‘You don’t know that,’ raged Dom. His craggy face crumpled and he slumped onto a rock. ‘I should have done something…stopped them…somehow…’

Michael hesitated and placed a hand on the other’s man shoulder. ‘There was nothing you could have done.’

‘I know the way to Racino Pass just as well as String.’ Dom muttered. ‘It should have been me who went.’

‘Hawke would never have let you.’ Michael pointed out gently.

Dom sniffed.

Patrick cleared his throat and the two men turned to look at the other man and the rest of the group with surprise; they’d almost forgotten they weren’t alone on the mountain. ‘I take it we can’t use the radio or the phone.’

Michael shook his head and nudged the offending objects with his cane. ‘No. Frank, or whoever he was, did a good job at destroying them.’

‘Great,’ muttered Callum, ‘so how do we get off this mountain?’

‘We’ll be fine.’ Dom said shortly. ‘Caitlin will realise something’s wrong when we fail to check in and she’ll come looking for us. I just hope it’s not too late for…’ His throat closed on his fear that they’d be too late to help Hawke; to save him.

‘If we only had someway of contacting her now.’ Michael said despondently and poked the broken satellite phone again. ‘Damn!’

Silence fell as they all absorbed the frustrating idea that they were stuck, unable to do anything until help arrived.

‘It’s a shame that plane is so busted up.’ Patrick commented. ‘If we could have fixed it, we might have been able to have gone for help.’

Brian shuffled a little. ‘What about the radio in the plane?’ He suggested. ‘Maybe it’ll still work.’

Michael’s good eye shot to Caitlin’s oldest brother. ‘That,’ he said pointing at the younger man, ‘is an excellent suggestion.’

‘For once, Michael,’ Dom said getting to his feet, ‘I agree with you.’ He gestured. ‘Well, what are we waiting for?’

They all hurried down to the wreckage of the plane and came to a halt as they took in the crumpled metal.

‘It doesn’t look promising.’ Callum said.

Doc patted his shoulder. ‘Never say die. Come on.’ He followed Dom and helped the older pilot climb up on the prop and into the cockpit.

‘Well?’ Michael demanded.

‘Give me a minute.’ Dom yelled looking about him at the shattered equipment. He reached for a headset and held it to one ear. He flicked a switch and breathed a sigh of relief at the crackle of static. He twisted the frequency knob and adjusted the mike.

‘Mayday, mayday. Can anybody hear me? Come in.’

There was a distorted voice as though someone was replying. Dom grunted and tried to clear up the sound. He gave his distress call again.

‘Dom?’ His name sounded through the headset. Dom closed his eyes and offered up a small prayer.

‘Caitlin? That you?’ He asked.

‘Thank God! Marella and I are on our way up to the camp. We thought you guys were in trouble.’ The relief in Caitlin’s voice was evident and Dom felt his heart lurch at the news he had to tell her…

‘Listen, Cait. You were right, there’s been some trouble.’ He said urgently. ‘We need the Lady. There’s a couple of men we need to introduce her to. You go and get her so you can pick us up and send someone else up here to get everybody else.’

‘Understood. Are you and Hawke OK?’ Caitlin asked.

Dom pressed his lips together; he couldn’t tell her. ‘We’ll be fine, honey.’ He evaded her question. ‘Just bring the Lady real quick.’

There was a pause and Dom held his breath.

‘I’m on my way.’ Caitlin said.

Dom sighed and put the radio down. He shifted awkwardly in the confined space and hefted himself back out of the cockpit.

‘Well?’ Michael demanded again.

Dom nodded. ‘I got through to Caitlin.’ He said. ‘She’s going to get someone to come get you all.’ There was a collective sigh of relief around the group of men. Dom’s eyes met the spy’s defensively. ‘She’s bringing the Lady. When she gets here I’ll go and find String.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ Michael said.

‘Me too.’ Doc said.

Dom nodded and his shoulders slumped. ‘I couldn’t tell her.’ He admitted. ‘I couldn’t tell her about String being missing with those men.’

Patrick patted his shoulder. ‘I’m not sure any of us could have told her.’ He said sympathetically.

Doc nodded. ‘Let’s head back to camp. We can wait for her there.’

It was a tense wait. Dom paced as the minutes ticked by and the others watched him helplessly knowing they couldn’t offer him much comfort. They all knew that time was running out for Hawke the longer he stayed a hostage.

The tension and worry overwhelmed Dom and he spun angrily to face the group. ‘Where is she?’ He asked furiously.

Michael opened his mouth to reply and stopped. He turned to look over his shoulder. Airwolf peeked out over the trees and drove all the men to their feet.

‘Oh my God!’ Brian shook his head. ‘What is that?’

‘That’s the Lady!’ Dom said smiling with relief.

‘Awesome.’ Callum said.

‘Yeah, she sure is.’ Doc agreed as the world’s only mach capable helicopter landed in their clearing, the powerful sweep of her rotors sending their camping equipment flying.

Caitlin climbed out of Airwolf, ducking to avoid the rotors and ran to greet Dom who was running towards her. Her eyes scanned the assembled men, her father, brothers, Doc, Michael…her forehead wrinkled with confusion. ‘Where’s Hawke?’ She yelled over the noise of the rotors she’d left spinning.

‘No time.’ Dom shouted back. ‘We have to go.’

‘Go where?’ Caitlin’s arm shot out. ‘Dom, where’s String?’ Her blue-green eyes pinned him to where he stood.

Dom jerked a thumb at the sky. ‘They took him hostage.’ He saw the words impact as she paled. He patted her arm comfortingly. ‘We’ll get him back.’

‘Right.’ Caitlin started back to the helicopter and froze as Michael and Doc both ran up to join them. She frowned. ‘You both can’t come. There’s not enough room.’

Michael and Doc looked at each other.

‘You go.’ Michael offered. ‘You’re the medic.’ Doc nodded and followed Dom into Airwolf. Doc took the countermeasure specialist seat he had occupied on his previous trips in the helicopter as Dom settled into his usual position at the engineer’s console. Michael cursed himself for the shock that rippled across Caitlin’s face as she considered the possibility Hawke might be injured.

‘Marella’s on her way.’ Caitlin said to Michael as he made to clear the area.

‘Good luck.’ He shouted as Caitlin climbed back into the commander’s seat.

‘Are we ready?’ Caitlin asked adjusting the helmet.

‘Ready.’ Dom confirmed.

She checked the group on the ground were clear and grasped the cyclic and took them up. She turned them in the heading Dom crisply gave to her and hit the turbos. Airwolf shot through the sky like a bullet.

‘What happened?’ Caitlin demanded.

‘We…it was…’ Dom began inarticulately.

‘There was a plane crash near the camp,’ Doc interrupted, ‘two men. Once we’d gotten them out they pulled guns on us and demanded Hawke take them up to Racino Pass.’

Caitlin lip’s thinned. She knew Hawke; knew that he’d probably volunteered to save the others…if anything happened to him. ‘How long ago?’ She asked.

‘We have time, Cait.’ Dom tried to assure her but his own uncertainty crept into his voice and the words came out unsteady.

Caitlin pushed Airwolf harder. Hold on, Hawke, she thought fiercely, just hold on.

Thirteenth February. Racino Pass.

Hawke’s head jerked and his eyes flew open. His eyes went straight to the fire and he sighed; it had gone out. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and shivered. It didn’t matter; the kindling was gone and he knew that he lacked the energy to get more. He checked his leg. The bandage had soaked through and was sticking to the wound; the ground beneath him was stained with blood. He must have almost fallen asleep, he thought tiredly. He took a breath and assessed his situation.

The sun had travelled across the sky; he figured he’d been on the mountain a couple of hours. His body was stiffening with the effect of the cold and physical trauma not just from the knife wound but also from the jump out of the chopper. He had to hold on. Dom and Caitlin would have Airwolf by now; they would be looking for him; they would find him.

A movement in the undergrowth caught his attention. He stared at the rustling leaves and his eyes widened at the sight of a wolf creeping out of the vegetation. The amber eyes regarded him for a long moment and Hawke held his breath. He’d known that there were a few wolves left on the mountains and occasionally he’d hear one howl but it was the first time he’d seen one. It looked like a relatively young she-wolf. He froze as she started toward him. He barely took a breath as the wolf padded over to him. She nosed his foot and he barely restrained himself from jerking away in an atavistic response. She turned once, twice and then to his amazement settled by his side.

He shivered as the wolf’s warmth started to transfer to his own body. He let out a slow breath. He felt his eyes start to droop and yanked them open at a low growl. His gaze slid to the wolf. She was looking back at him.

‘Guess you want me awake.’ He murmured. ‘OK. So what do you want to talk about?’

The wolf lay her head down between her paws.

‘Maybe I should tell you about my wolf.’ Hawke said. ‘She hasn’t got so much fur but she’s smart.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘Too smart, I think. She’s been doing a few things on her own; opening doors, responding to SOS calls…I don’t know.’ He shook his head. ‘I kinda think something’s going on with her.’ He sighed. ‘She’s great but I can’t help thinking her creator’s planted something else in her, like another logic bomb.’

Hawke’s blue eyes darkened with the memory of Charles Henry Moffett. He had never gotten along with Moffett. ‘He was bad to the core,’ Hawke commented to the wolf, ‘and I killed him. He killed…he killed someone I…someone I cared about.’

Gabrielle. The image of the small dark haired woman who had been his lover for a short time floated into his mind. They’d spent six days with each other. It was strange to think it had been such a short time. He’d lost her in the Libyan Desert; held her in his arms as she died after being tortured by Moffett. He had mourned her death for a long time after it had happened. Had he loved her? He’d thought so at the time. He sighed. He rarely thought of Gabrielle these days. It had been over two years since her tragic death and the ending of what might have been between them. If she had lived…if she had lived he probably would never have met Caitlin, he mused.

Caitlin. His heart warmed at the thought of her. Their friendship had been so fast and so easy…Caitlin had told him once that she had thought they were always meant to be friends like it had been fated and deep down he agreed with her. Even at that first meeting he had described to the other men, somehow he had known he could count on her. When she’d tracked him down to tell him about Jimmy, there had been no question in his mind that she fitted into his life. Their only issue, he thought, was his own fear of losing her. It had led him to almost letting her go the year before; she’d been shot saving him and he’d tried to push her away but in the end the brief separation had simply forced him to face up to his feelings for her. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it…’I’m getting married soon.’ He murmured sleepily to the wolf. ‘I have to hold on. I promised I would be at the wedding…’

The wolf was getting to her feet. Her head lifted to the sky as if she scented something on the wind. Hawke felt the absence of her warmth immediately. ‘Where are you going?’ He asked as she padded away. ‘Where are you…’ His eyes slipped shut.

Thirteenth February. Airwolf.

‘We’re almost there.’ Dom said. ‘You need to ease up…’

Airwolf shook as Caitlin brought her to a complete halt. Dom sprang to adjust the systems and keep them in the air.

‘Dom?’ Caitlin tried unsuccessfully to keep the panic from her voice.

‘I’m scanning.’ Dom confirmed. ‘I have the chopper.’ His lips thinned. ‘But no life signs…oh God.’

‘What?’ Caitlin’s head whipped around to look at him. Her mouth went dry and her heart was beating so loudly she wondered it didn’t burst from her chest as she waited for the reply.

Dom’s eyes met hers slowly. ‘I have two bodies on the ground.’

‘Where?’ She demanded and followed his quiet directions furiously blinking back the tears that threatened. Hawke couldn’t be dead…he just couldn’t be…she would know it…

‘I have a better visual.’ Dom said. His quick intake of breath as the images became clearer had Caitlin whirling back to him. ‘It’s not him.’ He hurriedly told her. ‘It’s not him.’

Caitlin breathed out. ‘Then where is he?’

‘I’m widening the scan.’ Dom said.

Doc followed the results on the monitor in front of him. ‘There!’ He stabbed a finger at the screen. ‘He’s by the path.’

‘I got him.’ Dom said. ‘He’s alive.’

Caitlin swung Airwolf around to the coordinates and landed her as close as she dared on the rocky path. Her blue-green eyes went straight to Hawke lying motionless by the mountain wall. She shoved the helmet away and fumbled with her door before running over to him. She slipped on the path, oblivious to the cold wind cutting through her Airwolf uniform and fell to her knees by her fiancé, barely aware of Doc crouching down next to her or Dom struggling up the path behind them.

‘Hawke?’ Her shaking hand cupped his cheek. ‘String? Do you hear me?’ He was so cold; too cold. ‘Doc?’ Her eyes flew to their friend’s anxiously.

Doc’s fingers were pressed against Hawke’s neck. He frowned as his eyes calmly catalogued the injuries the other man had endured. His gaze went unwillingly to the brown rusty stain on the dirt path beneath Hawke’s leg. The pilot had lost a lot of blood.

‘Well, Doc?’ Dom said breathless. ‘What’s the verdict?’

‘He’s alive but we need to get him to a hospital and quickly.’ Doc said. He gestured at Caitlin and Dom. ‘Give me a hand to get him into Airwolf.’

They all lifted an unconscious Hawke and began the treacherous descent back down the path to the helicopter. Dom scowled and stopped.

‘What?’ Caitlin asked her voice sharp with anger at the delay.

‘Look there’s a chopper.’ Dom said.

‘It’s heading towards us.’ Doc noted.

‘Come on. Let’s get moving.’ Dom hurried them forwards.

They were almost there when the chopper got close enough to send clouds of dirt and dust through the air, obscuring their vision. They lowered Hawke gently to the ground and covered him until the chopper moved away. It swung around and came back; their eyes widened in alarm at the attack pattern forming.

‘Dom, get to Airwolf!’ Caitlin yelled. ‘You can cover us.’

‘Right.’ Dom stumbled away from them but his progress was soon halted by a stream of gunfire that impacted the ground in front of him and cut him off from Airwolf. He crouched by the mountain wall and looked helplessly at the distance between him and the helicopter. His eyes shifted back up the path where Caitlin was covering Hawke with her own body, protecting him; Doc was attempting to protect her, both of them were faced away from him and didn’t know he hadn’t made it to Airwolf or that the chopper was coming back for another run.

Dom’s lips firmed; he had to get to Airwolf or they were all dead ducks. He’d taken two steps when the ADF pods suddenly deployed under Airwolf. He froze and stared at the machine in shock. He glanced back at the chopper as it started its run…the missile shot out from under Airwolf’s belly and headed straight for its target. The chopper exploded.

Dom swallowed hard and headed back to help Caitlin and Doc.

‘That was some shot.’ Caitlin said clambering back to her feet.

‘Yeah.’ Dom agreed without elaborating as he hefted an arm under Hawke’s shoulder and lifted him. ‘Come on. Let’s get out of here.’ He thrust his concern about what had happened away; getting Hawke to safety was the most important thing.

Thirteenth February. Fox Ridge Medical Centre.

‘Here.’ Doc offered Caitlin the plastic cup filled with weak coffee and wasn’t surprised when she shook her head. He set it down on the table and took the plastic bucket chair next to her in the stark waiting room.

‘What’s taking them so long?’ Caitlin asked anxiously. It had been over an hour since Dom had dropped them off. She knew the older man had wanted to stay, had seen his desire to make sure Hawke was alright in his eyes but one of them had needed to return Airwolf back to the Lair and he’d volunteered before she could say anything. Her eyes filled with tears again and she swiped them away angrily. Her emotions were too close to the surface.

‘He’ll be OK.’ Doc said. ‘Hawke’s a survivor.’

She nodded. ‘I know.’ Her hands twisted together. ‘I just…I can’t lose him, Doc.’

Doc slipped an arm around her shoulders. ‘You won’t.’

The sound of footsteps had her spinning around and Doc let his arm drop away at the sight of Dom with Michael and Marella running down the corridor with Caitlin’s family.

Caitlin stood up and went straight into Dom’s arms. ‘Dom…’

‘It’s OK, honey.’ Dom patted her awkwardly. ‘How is he?’ He asked gruffly.

Caitlin couldn’t speak and she turned to gesture at Doc.

Doc got to his feet. ‘He’s lost a lot of blood from a knife wound to his leg; there were some other minor injuries and he’d been on the mountain awhile. They’re treating him for the first stage of hypothermia.’

Dom’s grave expression told its own story.

‘The doctors are still with him.’ Caitlin said.

‘I’ll go see what I can find out.’ Marella offered quietly taking hold of Caitlin’s hand briefly.

‘Thank you.’ Caitlin squeezed the hand she held before she released the other woman to enable her to fulfil the offer she’d made.

‘He’ll pull through, Caitlin.’ Michael said taking hold of the hand Marella had relinquished.

She attempted a smile; failed and slowly sank back into the chair. The spy sat next to her on one side whilst Dom took the other. The older man covered her hands with his. Her family exchanged a look; each feeling equally left out, each feeling equally helpless. They silently took other seats in the waiting area.

‘You know all those times when he’s worried about losing me…’ Caitlin’s breath caught in her throat. ‘I thought I understood but now…’

‘I know, Caitlin, but you just have to keep a positive thought.’ Dom counselled her.

‘Oh God!’ Caitlin rubbed a hand over her eyes. ‘The wedding…’ She sighed. ‘I guess I should cancel…’

‘No!’ Erin said sharply and crouched down in front of Caitlin to take her sister’s hands in hers. ‘It’s too soon to make that decision.’

‘He’s injured, Erin.’ Caitlin said. ‘Even if he’s…even if he’s fine, he won’t make the wedding.’

‘He said he’d be there, Cait.’ Dom said gently. ‘It’s the last thing he said to me. He said to tell you he’d be at the wedding. Your sister’s right you just need to wait and see.’

The sharp of click of heels brought them to their feet again as Marella arrived back with a male ER doctor dressed in green scrubs. ‘I’m Doctor Yardly. Who’s the next of kin?’

Dom indicated Caitlin. Officially, until they married, he guessed it was still him but he figured the difference of a couple of days wasn’t worth getting precious about.

‘How is he?’ Caitlin asked.

‘He’s stable.’ The doctor said. ‘We’ve given him a blood transfusion, stitched the wound on his leg and treated the hypothermia. He’s also on a high dosage of antibiotics and painkiller. He’s still unconscious but he should come round in the next few hours.’

‘Can I see him?’ Caitlin demanded.

‘Of course. Follow me.’ The doctor began heading up the corridor and Caitlin followed after him but stopped as she realised Dom wasn’t with her.

‘Dom?’ She queried looking at him over her shoulder.

He waved her on. ‘You go. I’ll see him later.’

Caitlin shook her head and held her hand out. ‘He’ll want to see you too.’

Dom held her gaze for a heartbeat and took the hand she offered, tucking it under his arm as they hastened after the doctor.

Hawke was in a small private room. They didn’t notice the pale green walls or stark décor, their attention was on the still form lying in the bed, wrapped in blankets. A drip snaked across the bed and into one forearm whilst his injured leg had been placed outside of the blankets; the thigh heavily wrapped in a sterile bandage. They could see the evidence of other bruises and scrapes along the length of his leg.

Caitlin took the chair nearest the bed and tangled her fingers with his. Her eyes never left his face. A bruise was forming on the left side of his jaw; another under his right cheekbone. There was a scratch she hadn’t noticed before that ran from his throat down his neck. She raised her hand she held and kissed his knuckles. ‘Come back to me, Hawke.’

Dom moved a second chair close to the opposite side of the bed and settled into its leather upholstery. Tears pressed against the back of his throat and his eyes as he watched the shallow rise and fall of Hawke’s chest. He laid a hand on Hawke’s arm that lay on the bed near to him but couldn’t find the nerve to speak. The boy he’d raised, the man he sometimes secretly wished had been his own son, looked so broken…he’d failed to look after him and keep him safe; failed in the promise he’d made a lifetime ago to his best friend, Hawke’s father.

‘It should have been me.’ The words came out so unexpectedly and so bitterly that Caitlin’s eyes shot to Dom’s.

‘What?’ She asked uncertainly.

‘I know the way to that Pass but I let him go with those men when he stepped forward.’ Dom took a deep breath, forced himself to meet her eyes. ‘It should have been me.’

Caitlin’s compassionate gaze gentled further at the obvious guilt the older man was feeling. ‘He wouldn’t have wanted you to have gone, Dom.’ She said softly. ‘I know he’d rather be here than to have let you go and to have lost you.’

A tear rolled down his cheek and she held out her other hand across the expanse of bed. Dom took it clumsily.

‘He’ll tell you that,’ Caitlin continued, ‘as soon as he wakes up.’

Dom nodded. ‘As soon as he wakes up.’

Hawke was dreaming; he knew he was dreaming because he’d had the same dream a number of times since he’d proposed to Caitlin and it was always the same; he was getting ready for the wedding…

He was standing in front of the full length mirror on the inside of his wardrobe in his bedroom at the cabin, and he was wrestling with the tie that went with the new suit he’d bought for the wedding.

‘Here let me help you.’ A man stepped forward out of the shadows of the room; his brother, Saint John. It wasn’t the brother of his childhood or the brother he’d left behind in a jungle; it was the brother that looked out at him from a picture included in a folder of information he’d received; a picture that had finally given him conclusive proof his brother had survived ‘Nam.

Saint John had been rescued by a Special Forces unit he’d gone on to join and after he’d left the army he’d joined an intelligence agency to perform deep cover operations like those of the Special Forces. Michael had told Hawke that he thought his brother was working for the Company; the intelligence agency that was due to take over the FIRM in July. They were so close to answer and yet so far…how did you find someone who didn’t want to be found? Whose life depended on not being found?

Saint John had spun Hawke away from the mirror and was fastening the tie with a thoughtless efficiency that spoke of years of military experience. His tanned face was set in a frown of concentration; his hazel eyes fixed on his task. ‘You never did learn to tie these things rights.’ He grumbled. ‘There you’re set.’ He stepped back and viewed his handiwork with satisfaction. He shook his head as his eyes finally met Hawke’s blue gaze. ‘I can’t believe you’re getting married.’

‘Me either.’ Hawke admitted. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

‘Caitlin’s good for you.’ Saint John said. ‘She’s made you happy, String.’

Hawke nodded. ‘She’s…everything.’ He felt his old fear rise up. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without her.’

‘Let’s hope you never have to find out.’ Saint John said patting his shoulder.

‘I wish you were really here, Saint John.’ Hawke said. He wanted this to be real so badly it was no wonder he had dreamed it so often; the calming brotherly support as he prepared to marry.

‘I know.’ Saint John sighed. ‘You’re so close, String.’

‘But not close enough.’ Hawke said regretfully.

‘Not so I can be at your wedding, no.’ Saint John agreed. ‘But maybe soon…’

‘Is Michael right? Are you working for the Company?’

Saint John smiled at his brother. ‘You know that’s not how this works, String. I’m only inside your head.’ He reminded him.

‘No clues at all?’ Hawke prodded.

Saint John shrugged. ‘I need you to find me. You need to find me.’ He said. ‘But that hasn’t really changed.’

Hawke fidgeted.

Saint John gestured at him. ‘You might as well say it.’

‘Do you really want me to find you?’ Hawke asked. ‘After all, you haven’t been in touch all these years. Maybe you don’t want to be found.’

‘We’re going to have to talk about that.’ Saint John said with a serious expression darkening the hazel eyes. ‘But you know how I feel about you, String, you always did.’

Hawke took a deep breath and then a step forward to sweep his brother into a hug. ‘I love you, Saint John.’

‘I love you too, String.’ His brother took a step back…and started to fade away. He gave Hawke a mock salute. ‘Don’t be late for your wedding, little brother.’

The wedding; he was going to be late for the wedding…

Hawke’s eyes snapped open. The bright artificial light had him wincing and he turned his head to the side to avoid the harsh glow of the main light fitting. Hawke glanced around the rest of the room; it was small with pale green walls softened with some pictures that didn’t quite live up to being real art. His eyebrow quirked at the sight of Dom in a leather chair; the older man was fast asleep, his chin resting on his ample chest, his hands folded over his stomach.

‘Hey.’ Caitlin said softly. ‘Welcome back.’

His eyes immediately shifted and locked onto Caitlin’s. He frowned at the evidence of tears; the damp spiky lashes, the faint tracks of wetness under her eyes.

‘Hey.’ His throat was dry and the word whispered out.

Dom gave a grunt and opened his eyes wide at the sight of Hawke looking back at him.

‘String.’ Dom lurched out of the chair and stood by the bedside as Caitlin poured some juice into a glass and handed it to Hawke. He took it with a hand that shook slightly and he saw Caitlin visibly check a movement to help him. He gulped the liquid thirstily and the glass was empty when he handed it back to her.

‘How are you feeling?’ Dom said.

Hawke felt the sharp bite of pain as his stitched wound protested at a small movement and the aches from a multitude of other bruises and scrapes he’d picked up. ‘I’m OK.’ He said gruffly. His fingers tightened on hers. ‘Guess you guys found me.’ He’d been on the mountain alone but they’d found him.

Caitlin nodded and her eyes filled with tears again.

‘Hey.’ He brushed away a tear as it rolled across her cheek. ‘I’m OK.’

‘I thought…’ she took a shaky breath, ‘I was so scared.’

‘I told you I’d be at the wedding.’ A thought occurred to him and his eyes widened in alarm. ‘I haven’t missed it have I? What day is it?’

‘It’s still the thirteenth.’ Dom said.

Hawke breathed a sigh of relief.

Caitlin shook her head. ‘Don’t worry about the wedding.’ She sat back down in the chair. ‘We can reorganise it.’

Hawke stared at her. ‘What do you mean reorganise it?’

‘Well,’ she gestured at his leg, ‘you’re not going to be well enough…’

‘Hey.’ He waited until he held her damp eyes firmly with his. ‘We’re getting married the day after tomorrow. OK?’

She nodded. ‘You sure?’

‘I’m sure.’ Hawke squeezed her hand.

Dom smiled. ‘I’ll go let everyone know you’re back with us.’

Caitlin stood up and gestured at the older man. ‘I’ll go.’ She said. ‘I need to speak with my Mom and Dad.’ She added when Dom made to protest. She leaned over and kissed Hawke gently on the lips before she left the room.

Hawke watched her go before he turned back to Dom. ‘Guess I scared the hell out of her.’

‘Not just her.’ Dom said with a small huff of laughter. He sank back into the chair. ‘For a while there, kid…’ he shook his head, ‘you kinda scared the hell out of me too.’

Hawke shifted uncomfortably at the churning emotions crossing the craggy lines of the older man’s face. ‘I knew you’d find me.’

‘So what happened?’ Dom asked.

Hawke sighed. ‘It was Farland.’

‘Farland?’ Dom’s eyes widened. ‘You mean that guy who disappeared a couple of weeks back when they went to arrest him?’

‘That’s the one.’ Hawke confirmed. ‘John,’ his lips twisted, ‘was a counterfeit specialist. He’d prepared a whole pile of fake id for the guy.’

‘So Racino Pass was the drop spot.’ Dom said putting it together.

‘You got it.’ Hawke plucked at the bed sheet. ‘I jumped out of the chopper when I brought it into land but they managed to see where I went. Farland sent Frank and another guy after me.’

‘Yeah. We saw the bodies.’ Dom noted.

Hawke shrugged. ‘They didn’t leave me much choice.’

‘Hey, I’m not complaining.’ Dom assured him picking up on the slight defensive Hawke had tried to hide. ‘I’d rather have you then them any day of the week.’

Hawke relaxed a little. ‘The second guy had a knife. They were supposed to finish me off whilst Farland got away.’ He said. ‘I made it back to the path after…finishing the fight.’ He shook his head and caught the other man’s eyes. ‘I knew you’d come looking for me.’ He wondered briefly whether to tell Dom about the wolf and decided against it; he hadn’t quite determined whether it had been real or a hallucination. He was tending to think it was the latter…

‘You know I think they came back to check you were dead.’ Dom said.

Hawke’s eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean?’

Dom told him about the chopper that had attacked them when they had rescued him.

‘You could be right.’ Hawke commented. ‘Maybe he did come back when Frank and the other guy didn’t show.’ He frowned. ‘I guess you shot them down.’

‘Ah…about that.’ Dom wiped his hands nervously on his thighs. ‘I think you might be right.’

‘About what?’ Hawke asked bemused.

‘About something being wrong with Airwolf.’ Dom said gesticulating. ‘About her doing things on her own.’

Hawke raised an eyebrow. Airwolf had acted independently a couple of times in the last few months but the older pilot had always maintained she had simply extrapolated her programming and had dismissed Hawke’s worry that something more fundamental was wrong. ‘What did she do?’

‘She…ah…’ Dom avoided his eyes. ‘She shot down the chopper.’

‘She what?’

‘Now don’t look at me like that!’ Dom said hurriedly. ‘You see we were on the ground carrying you and the chopper turned up so Cait and Doc covered you whilst I went to Airwolf to deal with it but then…’ he took a breath, ‘but then I got cut off. The chopper turned and was heading back to make a second run at us; Airwolf deployed the ADF pods and shot it out of the sky.’

Hawke was silent as he absorbed the information. He stabbed a finger at the older man. ‘She’s grounded.’

Dom sighed. ‘She saved our lives.’

‘Maybe,’ Hawke allowed, ‘but if she’s choosing targets and shooting at them all by herself, something is definitely up with her programming.’ He sighed. ‘Have you or Cait told Michael yet?’

Dom shook his head. ‘I was the only one who saw.’

‘Good.’ Hawke rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘I’ll tell Cait after the wedding; she needs to know but she’s got enough on her plate right now.’

Dom nodded. ‘And Michael?’

Hawke sighed deeply as he wrestled with whether to tell the deputy director. Given what had happened the last time when Airwolf had acted screwy under the influence of a logic bomb, Michael was very likely to overreact. Hawke was no longer worried that Michael wouldn’t try and find his brother if he didn’t have Airwolf but he still didn’t want a decision forced on him by the spy. ‘When Cait and I get back from the honeymoon, we’ll run some tests. If she’s still acting up, we’ll tell him then.’

‘OK.’ Dom agreed. His eyes ran over Hawke’s battered body. ‘Are you real sure you’re going to make the wedding and honeymoon?’

‘I’ll make it.’ Hawke confirmed quietly.

Dom ignored the icy determination in the younger man’s eyes. ‘You wouldn’t have to delay it for long; just until you’re back on your feet. Caitlin would understand…’

‘Dom.’

The older pilot settled back into the chair. There was no point arguing when Hawke used that tone.

Hawke fidgeted. ‘I…er…I’ve been having this dream…’ He confessed nervously.

‘Oh?’

‘About the wedding.’ He gestured at the older man. ‘About Saint John being there.’

‘I have to admit,’ Dom commented, ‘I was a little surprised that you didn’t wait until he got home.’

‘It wouldn’t have been fair to Cait.’ Hawke said. He didn’t mention his other reason; that the news his brother had chosen not to contact him after escaping the Vietcong had made Hawke reassess how much of his own life he’d put on hold to find his brother. He knew that it had played a part in his decision to go ahead with the wedding.

‘Well it’s only natural you’d want your brother there, String.’ Dom said comfortingly. ‘It’s a big day.’

‘Yeah.’ Hawke sighed.

Dom smiled. ‘Well at least you’ll be there and that’s the important thing, huh?’

Hawke returned the smile. ‘I’ll definitely be there.’

Fifteenth February. Hawke’s Cabin.

Hawke scowled at the reflection in the mirror and wondered at the mess he’d made of his tie. He pulled it apart and took a deep breath as he started over. He frowned; it wasn’t going well.

‘Here let me help you with that.’

The voice at the bedroom door made him spin around with his heart beating loudly in his chest. He swallowed his disappointment as his eyes alighted on Michael. The spy was dressed in a charcoal suit that matched the one Hawke was partially dressed in. It was weird seeing Michael in something other than the all-white suit he favoured.

The spy frowned. ‘Are you OK? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.’

‘I’m fine.’ Hawke said turning back to the mirror. He sighed and gestured at the half-completed tie. ‘Apart from this.’

Michael walked over and pulled the pale grey silk until it was flat and straight. He fixed the tie quickly and gestured for Hawke to take a look.

The pilot glanced at the perfect knot and breathed out in relief. ‘Thanks, Michael.’

The spy shrugged and glanced around the spare room. His lips twitched. ‘You spent the night here?’

‘We thought we’d stick with tradition; you know, spend the night apart; not see each other until the ceremony.’ Hawke slipped into the dark charcoal jacket and checked the cuffs of his crisp white shirt.

‘And you got relegated to the spare room?’ Michael’s voice rang with amusement.

Hawke brushed some lint off his lapel. ‘Cait needs the main bedroom more than I do.’

‘So you haven’t seen each other this morning at all?’ Michael was sceptical.

Hawke shook his head and smiled at Michael’s disbelief. ‘We had a close call around breakfast but Maggie’s pretty good at orchestrating everyone so we haven’t run into each other.’ He glanced over at Michael. ‘Where’s Angelina?’

‘Outside with Marella.’ Michael said. ‘She can’t wait to be a flower girl. She’s been practising throwing petals all morning.’

Hawke smiled at the indulgent tone in the other man’s voice. Michael had turned into a doting father since they had returned from Russia with his daughter.

‘How’s your leg holding up?’ Michael asked. Hawke had been discharged from the hospital the day before and whilst the pilot always healed fast, Michael knew the other man had to be in some pain.

‘It’s fine.’ Hawke said dismissively. The knife wound was still sore but he had endured worse.

Michael arched an eyebrow as the other man clearly limped over to the bedside table to retrieve his watch. ‘Ready?’

Hawke took a final glance at his reflection. ‘Ready.’ He agreed.

Michael held up a hand. ‘Maybe I should check if the coast is clear first.’

Hawke rolled his eyes. ‘Funny, Michael.’

They headed out through the corridor that led to the main living space of the cabin. Hawke’s eyes widened with pleasure as he took in the transformation. There were petals strewn across the wooden floor; flowers spilled from vases on practically every surface and their heavy perfume scented the air. The furniture had been arranged to provide cosy corners and seating areas whilst the dining table was laden with food and drink for their guests. The wedding cake was set back on its own table complete with the tiny figures of a bride and groom perched on the top layer. Someone had music playing on the stereo and the gentle piano sonata set the mood perfectly.

Hawke felt Michael’s hand on his shoulder and he moved forward slowly, taking his time on his injured leg.

Michael saw the way Hawke’s jaw clenched and resisted the urge to offer his cane; Hawke probably needed it more than he did right that moment. He followed Hawke out onto to the porch. More flowers trailed over the railings and posts, down over the steps.

Hawke paused for a moment to get his balance and his breath caught in his throat. Sunlight lit the clearing with a golden glow; the lake was a startlingly clear reflection of the sunshine and bright blue sky. Pots of white and yellow flowers edged the pier and the clearing. A path of petals led them from the cabin to the wooden platform where Caitlin and he would exchange their vows. Caitlin’s mother had taken charge of the last minute arrangements so Caitlin could stay with Hawke at the hospital. She had outdone herself, Hawke mused with a sense of awe.

They must have moved the choppers already, thought Hawke, which meant all their guests had arrived. It was a small group; Caitlin’s immediate family and a few of their close friends. He caught sight of Half-pint, the boy he’d once believed to be his nephew, playing with Caitlin’s nieces and nephews, and Angelina over by the woods. Tet, his dog, was guarding the pathway to the forest as though babysitting the children and ensuring they wouldn’t stray. Hawke’s eyes drifted forward to where Half-pint’s mother was standing talking to Caitlin’s sisters-in-law, past Marella and Jo Santini talking with the judge who would perform the ceremony and onto where Caitlin’s grandfather and Doc stood talking with Caitlin’s brothers, Brian and Callum. His blue eyes darkened with envy at the closeness of the two men. His eyes clouded; he missed Saint John. He shook off the touch of melancholy. It wasn’t a day for regrets or sadness.

‘There you two are.’

Hawke turned to smile at Dom as he walked out to join him and Michael on the porch steps. The older man grinned back at him.

‘You ready, kid?’ Dom asked.

Hawke nodded. ‘I’m ready.’

‘Aren’t you supposed to be nervous?’ Michael asked.

‘Why would I be nervous?’ Hawke asked as he took the glass of champagne Dom offered him.

‘Because it would prove you were human,’ answered Michael, ‘contrary to all our beliefs.’

Hawke smiled in answer and took a sip of champagne. He had to admit, he mused, that he was surprised at his own lack of nerves. He’d woken up without any doubts or uncertainties; just a quiet certainty that his marrying Caitlin was right. The surety of what he was doing had stayed with him throughout the morning. Hawke tugged on the pale grey tie.

Michael hid a smile and cleared his throat. ‘I have a wedding present for you.’

Hawke raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh?’

‘I’ve arranged to have the marriage record sealed.’ Michael explained. ‘If someone runs a routine background check or even investigates the official records, there will be no way they will find out about your marriage and be able to target Caitlin.’

‘Thanks, Michael.’ Hawke said sincerely.

‘It doesn’t keep her completely safe.’ Michael said apologetically. ‘If someone’s serious enough to come after you…your marriage will be easily uncovered.’

Hawke shrugged. ‘It doesn’t hurt either. It’s a nice thought.’ He patted Michael’s shoulder.

Dom smiled at the spy. It was a thoughtful gift to give Hawke; he’d lost so many people in his life to do something that helped keep Caitlin safe…

‘You know if someone had told me when we made our deal that two years later you would still have Airwolf and I would be stood at your wedding, I would have accused them of being crazy.’ Michael said.

‘Me too.’ Dom said with a laugh.

‘You two agreeing with each other?’ Hawke smiled. ‘We have come a long way.’

The three men smiled at one another.

Dom sighed happily. ‘I have to admit,’ he said, ‘two years ago I never thought I’d see the day you’d walk down the aisle.’

Hawke sipped his champagne. ‘I hadn’t met Caitlin.’

‘Ah it was a good day when you met that girl.’ Dom said.

‘I’ll drink to that.’ Michael raised his champagne glass. ‘To the bride.’

The sound of their clinking glasses mingled with the music drifting from the cabin.

Hawke heard a throat being cleared behind them and he turned to smile at Maggie. He gestured at the scene in front of them. ‘Thanks, Maggie. It looks great.’

Caitlin’s mother smiled and smoothed the dove grey silk dress she wore. ‘You haven’t seen Caitlin yet.’ She waved them forward. ‘You should take your places.’

Hawke nodded and handed the champagne glass to Dom who quickly took it back inside before coming back out to help Hawke down the steps whilst Michael corralled his daughter ready for her part in the wedding.

The judge stood with his back to the lake at the edge of the deck. His twinkling brown eyes welcomed Hawke as he took his place in front of the silver haired man. Dom grinned beside him as his best man and Michael stood as his second. The other guests gathered around in an informal circle leaving a wide gap for the bride and her father to walk through.

The music changed and they all turned to look at the porch steps. Angelina was the first to walk down them. Hawke’s eyes flickered with indulgent amusement to Michael’s proud expression as the little girl made her way towards them, grabbing and distributing yellow and cream petals that matched her dress from a small white wicker basket.

Fiona was the next, quickly followed by Erin and Hawke held his breath as he waited for Caitlin. She moved into view on the porch, an arm tucked into her father’s. The halter neck dress left her shoulders and back bare and fell in a slim column of pale cream silk to her feet. The material was shot through with a thin gold thread that shimmered in the sunlight. A cream wool shawl, draped over her arms, provided her with some protection against the slight breeze that teased at her dress and she held a bouquet of gold and cream roses in her hand. Her hair was up in some complicated do that Hawke figured would take him a minute to destroy later but she’d left tendrils curling around her face and neck which the sunlight turned to copper. She looked beautiful. His stunned blue eyes finally connected with hers and they smiled at each other.

Their eyes held as Patrick escorted her to Hawke’s side, letting her go with a paternal kiss. Hawke took her hand and interlinked their fingers as the judge began the wedding ceremony.

‘We are gathered here today to witness the union between this man and this woman…’

‘…do you Stringfellow Hawke take Caitlin O’Shaunessy to be your wife? To have and to hold, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?’

‘I do.’ Hawke said solemnly.

‘…And do you Caitlin O’Shaunessy take Stringfellow Hawke to be your husband? To have and to hold, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?’

‘I do.’ Caitlin’s joy rang out clearly.

‘The rings?’ The judge prompted.

The couple turned to Dom who smiled at them before catching on that it was time for him to handover the jewellery. There was a quiet chuckle around the gathering as he patted his pockets and lost the smile before finding the rings in the third pocket he tried. He handed them to the judge.

Hawke’s voice was steady as he completed his vows and slipped the plain gold band onto her finger; it glinted as she slipped the matching wedding ring on Hawke’s finger; his eyes held hers as she completed her vows.

‘…I now pronounce you man and wife.’

Hawke reached over to kiss Caitlin softly on the lips. There was an eagle cry overhead and a throat cleared behind them. Hawke felt Caitlin’s curve under his own. They broke apart and thanked the judge before they were swept into ebullient hugs of congratulations.

The day seemed to pass quickly; there was food and laughter, cake and dancing…Hawke and Caitlin took a moment to sit and watch the others from the porch steps wrapped in each other’s arms.

Caitlin sighed and settled back against Hawke’s chest. She raised her hand and stared in disbelief at the wedding ring which glinted as the sunlight caught the gold. She thought about pinching herself. She had never thought she’d be sitting with him as his wife. She smiled and repressed the urge to giggle.

‘What’s so funny?’ He asked catching the laughter in her eyes.

‘Oh nothing.’ She said and his arms tightened around her. She felt his lips against her bare shoulder and shivered.

‘Have I told you how beautiful you look, Mrs Hawke?’

Caitlin smiled. ‘Mrs Hawke.’ She repeated. ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of hearing that.’

Hawke kissed her. ‘Me either,’ he admitted. ‘I love you, Mrs Hawke.’

‘I love you too.’

They were smiling as Patrick suddenly left the makeshift dance floor they’d laid out in the clearing and bounded up the steps past them to disappear inside. The music stopped and Patrick reappeared with a tray of drinks. The champagne was handed out as Patrick called for order. Hawke smiled at Caitlin’s confusion remembering how Patrick and Dom had conspired to do a speech at the abandoned camping trip.

Patrick cleared his throat. ‘Now I know the happy couple didn’t plan speeches into the day but as the father of the bride, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity and with a little help from the best man…’ he smiled at Dom. Hawke shot his friend a knowing look and Dom smiled smugly back at the younger pilot.

‘…we’ve come up with something but I promise I’ll make it quick.’ Patrick smiled at the couple; at Caitlin’s delight and Hawke’s amused resignation.

‘So,’ Patrick continued, ‘the first thing is to welcome Hawke to our family,’ his smile broadened at his new son-in-law’s surprise, ‘and to thank him for making sure Maggie can stop worrying about whether Caitlin would ever get married.’

There was a smattering of chuckles and Maggie wagged a finger at him promising retribution later.

‘We have to admit Caitlin’s choice of groom did provoke some discussion in the family but,’ Patrick held Hawke’s gaze, ‘it’s difficult to argue with the choice she’s made; an honest, good man who any family would be proud to have as an addition.’ His lips twitched at the colour in Hawke’s cheeks and his gaze slid to his daughter. ‘I’m reliably informed by Dominic that Hawke’s own parents would have been proud of the choice he’s made in his bride and as her father, I can hardly argue.’ Caitlin smiled up at him. ‘They make a good match and I think there is no doubt in those of us who have had the privilege in sharing in your wedding day that you share a special bond, a love that blesses you both.’ Patrick tried to clear the lump his throat. ‘So, everyone raise their glasses please and join me in a toast; to Hawke and Caitlin, the bride and groom.’

The shout rang out across the lake as Hawke kissed his wife: ‘To the bride and groom.’

fin.

Next Story: The Odd Couple