Part 1 of 3
Caitlin sat down at the bar in Hawke's cabin as they all waited for Michael to come and give them the details of the latest mission he had for them. "I thought he'd be here by now," she said as she looked at her watch.
"What's with you?" asked Dom. "Why are you in a rush?"
Caitlin shot him a wry smile. "Oh, I have this blind date tonight," she replied. "My friend Mary who is a make-up artist just started dating this new guy. He's an actor and he has an actor friend they want me to meet."
"I thought you said you'd never date an actor," said Hawke.
Caitlin grinned. "Well, that was before I saw the commercial he was in," she replied.
Before he could respond, Hawke heard the sound of Michael's helicopter. "Michael's here," he told the others.
Archangel quickly made his way up to and inside the cabin. "Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice," he replied as one of his women followed him in with several garment bags. "I'm going to need Hawke and Caitlin to attend a dinner party tonight."
"Tonight?" asked Caitlin. "That's short notice. There goes my date."
"Oh, you can always reschedule," replied Hawke. "If he wants to meet you he'll wait."
"So what's this all about Michael?" asked Dom.
Michael handed the trio several photos. "The first picture is of Mitchell Day and his wife Julia. She runs a charity with her best friend that helps foster children get adopted," he said. "The second picture is Julia's best friend Susan Smith and her husband Brett. Brett is also Mitchell's best friend."
"So why are we getting involved with a charity?" asked Hawke.
"As it turns out, Mitchell is funneling the money from the charity into an illegal gambling business," replied Michael. "When his wife found out, she went to Brett and in turn he came to us. Neither of them has approached him about it. They are angry because the charity means a lot to them."
"I'll say," said Dom. "You don't find too many people who will turn in their husband or their best friend."
"I bet they were afraid of being implicated," said Hawke.
"You're right," replied Michael. "The Day's marriage is pretty rocky and Brett has too much at stake with his business to let this indiscretion with Mitchell cause him any negative publicity."
"So, how can we help?" asked Caitlin.
"You will accompany Hawke to the charity dinner event tonight posing as his wife," replied Michael. "Here is a check for a half a million dollars. You will be introduced as a couple who cannot have their own children. This is why you're interested in this particular charity. Mrs. Day will act as though she knows you to keep her husband from being suspicious although I think the money alone will make him happy."
Michael motioned for his associate to hand Hawke and Caitlin the garment bags. "These are your clothes for tonight," he said. "I'll have a limo pick the two of you up at the hangar around seven."
"Wow, you don't waste any time," replied Caitlin. "So what exactly will be our purpose for going to this charity dinner besides giving them money?"
"We've been told that Mr. Day keeps a record of his gambling operation in a safe on the second floor," replied Michael as he handed Hawke an envelope. "Here is a layout of the house as well as the combination of the safe that Mrs. Day provided us. You'll also find a small discrete camera. We don't want him to find out we are on to him or that his wife is involved until we catch him in the act. Apparently he is using a special gambling bus. The locations that he picks up his clients and where they travel to are supposed to all be in that safe."
"How do we get to the safe without causing suspicion?" asked Hawke. "And, why can't Mrs. Day just get the information for us?"
"Apparently he watches her like a hawk. They have some trust issues. But, Mrs. Day as well as Brett Smith will do everything they can to keep him distracted and away from that area of the house at ten this evening," replied Michael. "They figure this will give you time to present them with your check and hopefully keep him from having any kind of suspicion about your motives. I'll have the limo pick you up around eleven and we'll meet back up at the hangar and go over your findings."
"Okay, sounds like a plan," said Hawke.
"Anything you want me to do?" asked Dom.
"Stand by with Airwolf in case something goes wrong," replied Michael. "You can never be too sure."
"You got it," said Dom.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAA
Later that evening, Hawke waited as Caitlin dressed for the party in the restroom at Santini Air.
"What's taking her so long?" he asked Dom.
"She's a female," said Dom with a grin. "She'll be ready soon enough."
A few minutes later, Caitlin emerged wearing a short black strapless dress. Her long hair was wavy and flowed down onto her shoulders.
"Wow," said Dom. "You sure clean up nice."
Caitlin laughed. "Thanks," she replied. "I kind of like this dress."
String smiled at her. "It suits you," he replied. "I don't think I'll have any problem getting away from Day. He'll be spending too much time looking at you."
Caitlin giggled. "Sure he will," she replied while lightly smacking him on the arm. "Is the limo here yet?"
"Actually I think I hear it now," replied Hawke. "Let's get going."
Hawke couldn't help but stare at Caitlin as they rode to the dinner in the limo. "What is it?" she asked him.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about how you're missing out on your date with the actor," he replied. "I'm sorry you're stuck with me instead."
Caitlin smiled and grabbed his hand. "That's okay," she replied. "I always enjoy a night out with one of my closest friends."
Hawke grinned at her. "Thanks," he replied. "We need to discuss how you'll back me up when I got into that office. I think you should stand as a look out. There is a bathroom two doors down so if anyone comes, they'll think you're coming out of there."
"Sounds like a plan," she replied. "I hope this goes down as easy as Michael seems to think it will."
"Nothing ever goes down that easy," he replied. "But, with inside help, we should be able to manage this."
Once they arrived at the charity dinner party, Hawke and Caitlin were immediately approached by Mrs. Day and she introduced them to her husband. He seemed delighted to meet them and Hawke figured that his wife had already briefed him on the amount they would be contributing.
The two mingled awhile in the crowd and sat down for dinner. The room was set up so that all of the couples would have a cozy table for two with candle light and roses.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever been to a dinner event quite like this before," said Caitlin. "They really want to wine and dine their contributors."
"Either that or some of these people are married and don't want to be seen with their girlfriends," chided Hawke.
Caitlin cocked her head sideways and smirked at him. "You are so cynical Stringfellow Hawke," she replied.
"I'm just a realist," he replied as he looked at his watch. "We have about a half hour. It looks like dinner is winding down and the agenda stated that they would announce the larger donations and then dancing would follow. Let's hope Mrs. Day does her job after that."
The rest of the night seemed to flow as planned. Mrs. Day and her friend announced the large contributors that included Hawke and Caitlin. Afterwards, she took her husband by the hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. That was the signal for String and Caitlin to go and access the safe. They found the office with ease and Caitlin waited out by the bathroom as Hawke went in to take pictures of the information they needed on Day's gambling operation.
No sooner had he stepped out of the room, both he and Caitlin heard Day and his wife coming towards them. Trying to avoid being noticed too close to the office, he thought fast and grabbed Caitlin by the arms and pushed her up against the wall.
Caitlin thought she knew what was coming next but it still took her by surprise. "Okay, I'll play along," she said to herself as Hawke pushed up against her and began kissing her almost frantically at first on the lips. Next, she kept her eyes shut as he moved down her neck and then began placing gentle kisses on her bare shoulders. She nearly shuddered as he moved back up her neck and once again took aim on her lips. He held both of her arms against the wall and then slowly let go as he used his hands to explore.
Both of them could sense they were being stared at and Hawke suddenly pulled away and turned towards Mr. and Mrs. Day.
"Oh, sorry," he replied while trying to act embarrassed. "Sometimes we just get carried away."
Mrs. Day smiled and then looked at her husband. "That's okay," she replied. "We were like that a long time ago."
"We'll leave you two alone," said Mr. Day as he took his wife's hand and pulled her towards the office. "You can carry on if you like."
Caitlin blushed. "Thanks but I think we'll be heading home now," she said. "This was a lovely party and we would like to be more involved in your charity. Please keep in touch with us."
"Oh, we will," replied Mr. Day. "Thank you again for your generosity."
With that, Hawke grabbed Caitlin's hand and they headed out to meet their limo.
"Wow, that was close," said Caitlin when they were almost outside. "Thank goodness he bought our act. That was quick thinking on your part."
"Yeah," Hawke replied as they climbed into the limo and headed back to Santini Air.
Too be continued…..