Chapter 1

Stringfellow Hawke sat silent as he and Caitlin approached a small runway just south of the north Texas border. They were given what Archangel called a "simple mission" to pick up several important packages from an operative there. He asked that they fly Airwolf so that the pick- up would be quick and fast and they would have firepower should any unforeseen problems arise.

"I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about this one," said Caitlin. "When I lived out here, this runway was known to have some seedy things going on all the time."

String sighed. "Well, hopefully we'll only be there a few minutes," he replied. "The pick-up is supposed to be quick."

"Not quick enough for me," replied Caitlin.

Hawke saw two cars parked at the end of one of the runways. "There they are," he said. "Move up here. I'll get the packages but we need to be ready for a quick take off just in case."

Caitlin did as instructed as String climbed out of Airwolf and walked over to meet the three men that were waiting for him. They handed him the packages and took off quickly, taking Hawke by surprise. "Something's not right here," he thought. "Why are they in such a hurry?"

A sudden instinct told Hawke he needed to set the packages down and run. Before he could turn and get back to Airwolf, one of the boxes exploded. The light blinded his eyes and the force of the explosion sent him sprawling backwards.

Caitlin jumped out of Airwolf and ran over to him. "Hawke!" she yelled. "Hawke, are you okay?"

Hawke could barely move. Caitlin helped him to his feet and guided him into the cockpit. She quickly got in on the other side and within moments, had Airwolf in the air.

"Hawke, are you okay?" she asked again. "Where are you hurt?"

Caitlin was frantic when he didn't answer her. She could see that he was slipping into unconsciousness. "Hang on String," she said. "I'm going to get you some help."

She contacted Archangel to inform him of the situation. "Michael, this whole thing was a set up," she said, almost wanting to scold him for his part in the ordeal. "One of the packages was a bomb. Hawke's been hurt."

"Bring him in to the Firm's hospital," instructed Michael. "I'm sorry Caitlin. That was not supposed to happen. I don't know what went wrong but you can be sure I'll find out."

Caitlin flew as fast as Airwolf would go in order to quickly get Hawke the medical assistance he needed. When they reached the hospital, Michael and the doctor's were waiting outside with a gurney. They quickly loaded Hawke onto it and wheeled him into their emergency ward. Not wanting to leave Airwolf unguarded, Caitlin told him that she would return shortly with Dom.

Caitlin hated to leave Hawke's side. She had a hard time focusing on flying. She contacted Dom and told him what had happened. He had been spending the day with an old army buddy and had to cut the reunion short to join her. He met her at the liar and after she put Airwolf to bed, they flew back to the hospital in Santini's helicopter.

She could feel her heart beating faster and faster as they walked down the long corridor to meet Archangel who was awaiting her return.

"Michael how is he?" she asked. "Is he going to be okay?"

He didn't answer her at first. He just stared at her with a blank look on his face. "I'm so sorry about all of this Caitlin," he said. "I knew it might be dangerous but the packages were supposed to be safe."

Caitlin was starting to get really upset. "You didn't answer me Michael," she replied. "Is Hawke going to be okay?"

"He'll live," replied Michael. "But, there is a complication."

"What is it Michael?" asked Dom. "What don't you want to tell us?"

Archangel looked away from the pair. "The blast caused some damage to Hawke's eyes," he said solemnly. "The doctors aren't sure at this point if it's permanent or not."

"What do you mean by damage?" asked Caitlin. "Do you mean he's blind?"

Caitlin grabbed Dom's arm to steady herself. She was suddenly feeling ill.

"I'm sorry Caitlin," Michael replied. "But I'm afraid so."

Dom put his arm around Caitlin's waist for support. "Does he know?" he asked.

"No, he hasn't fully regained consciousness yet," Michael replied.

"I want to see him," Caitlin insisted. "I want to be there when he wakes up."

"Okay," replied Michael. "Give me a minute to talk to the doctors. I'm sure it'll be okay."

Dom could see the pain and worry in Caitlin's face. The tears were slowly beginning to form in her eyes. He pulled her in for a hug. "It's going to be okay sweetheart. This is String. He's going to come through this just fine. I know it."

"I pray you're right," she said softly. "I'm just worried about how he's going to deal with this."