Disclaimer: The characters of Airwolf and MacGyver are not mine. I just borrow to create my own reality. All other characters created that are not part of the show are mine.
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Summary: Almost 18 months after returning from the hospital, Red is off and working on a new project to expand her business. The injuries of the accident still cause her discomfort but she's not willing to slow down. The search for the elusive Airwolf begins and ghosts of the past begin to resurface. Will she be able to find this mysterious chopper or will she find herself on a razors edge of destruction.
Chapter 1
Red stood in front of an old run down hanger building with a faded sign on the outside of the building that said 'Dalton Air'. The place was going to need a lot more work than she expected. The doors had been chained and locked, the place having stood like this for years. She walked up slowly to the doors and used the key Jack Dalton had sent her to unlock the padlock and then the second key to unlock the door itself. It took her a little WD-40 and a lot of cussing to finally get the lock to budge and get the door to slide part way open.
She stood there for a long moment, looking at her newest acquisition, one that MacGyver had helped her find by tracking down his old friend Jack. Jack liked to wheel and deal but Red had made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He had a small charter business down on some tropical island where he flew tourists around and was happily married with two 'little Jacks' running around. According to Mac, apparently family life suited him much better than he thought it would.
What little light was shed in through broken windows on this overcast day wasn't enough to improve the look on the inside of the hanger. But the one thing that did brighten her day was the stock of planes, choppers and the antique World War II Bomber that had been pushed inside before the doors had been locked tight. Some looked like they needed a lot of work, some maybe not so much.
The hanger came attached with ninety acres and a runway. It was nestled up in a valley near northern California, often seeing rainy days and overcast skies. The only thing that didn't make it prime real estate was the location. It was a long drive away from anywhere and there was very little but hills, cliffs and mountains for miles. The easiest way in or out was by air, which again, made this place perfect for what she had planned.
Rachelle had convinced her that they needed a new location where they could store larger aircraft to cater to another market. It seemed that more and more film companies were looking for air service companies that specialized in antique aircraft or aircraft of any kind that could be used. There were a few companies out there that specialized in the larger planes and they even utilized the Air Force from time to time, but the more eclectic pieces they wanted for their films caused them to rely on collectors or hobbyist to do the stunts and not all of them were insured or properly trained in stunt piloting, thus costing the film company even more to cover the insurance or to find a trained pilot.
She already had three planes that could be added to the stockpile besides what was inside this hanger: a Steerman, a Huey and a WWII short run bomber. But this hanger and the land around it would be big enough to hold a large assortment of planes as they were repaired, cleaned and brought into service. She moved further inside the hanger, hearing her footsteps echo off the high walls and ceilings. It definitely was going to take a lot of work but with what she saved on the cost of the land and hanger, she'd spend on repair, paint and cleaning materials. Thankfully she could count on Sam and several of her crew to help get things ready or this wouldn't be feasible.
Rachelle continued to do a great job in organizing and running the charter service from Van Nyues so it was one aspect of the business that Red didn't have to deal with. She could trust Rachelle to make the decisions that needed to be made and had even given her power of attorney to have signing rights on any contracts and documents that needed an official signature. That left Red free to start up this other half of the business with some privacy to go along with it.
She poked around a little longer through the office and other rooms at the back. She stretched and pulled off her coat, setting it on the dusty desk. Best to get started now to see what could be salvaged out of the 'fleet' of derelicts or what should just be scrapped out for parts. She would be the only one here for a few days since Sam had been hired to do a photo shoot in Virginia for a nature magazine. Sam had stayed up at the cabin with her for almost six months after she had come home from the hospital. But he grew restless, needing to be out and doing something productive. Plus with winter coming to the mountains and Red still in need of physical therapy as well as Mac and Rachelle believing it wasn't a good idea for her to spend the winter up there that year, they packed up clothes and miscellaneous items, closed up the cabin and headed for warmer climate for the winter months.
Sam had taken off shortly after Red was settled in with Rachelle to work for several magazines he'd been hired out to do. About the time winter was coming to an end in the mountains, he had returned. Red moved back up to the cabin as soon as the snow cleared, getting a full bill of health from the doctors at the VA.
Sam was now on call to do photo journalistic work whenever an assignment came up, otherwise he was free to do whatever he wished. She had told him that he was welcome to move in with her if he felt so inclined and soon after, what few belongings he had were tucked away at her place. Both of them were independent souls and though both enjoyed each other's company, neither could sit still for long before needing to be out and doing something. So between gigs, he was helping her try to track down the elusive Airwolf.
Fall was now upon them already and Sam had been away for the past two weeks on different jobs. This last one would keep him busy for another week at least. She liked the quiet time it gave her when he wasn't around but then she would always find herself looking for him at the oddest times, feeling the ache of loneliness and coming to the realization that she really liked having him around. She didn't want to rush anything though and simply was content just to have him around when she could.
She drew out a pad of paper and pencil from her pocket and began to scribble some down some notes as she walked from plane to plane. She sighed as she came across a tangle of wires in one particular piece of equipment that looked like it had been cobbled together with chewing gum and duct tape to make it work. It was going to be a long afternoon.