The Illusion of Caitlin O'Shannessy

A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 1

"Caitlin! Are you alright?" Michael Coldsmith Briggs, aka Archangel, asked as he entered his office.

Caitlin turned from where she was staring out the wall of windows on the back side of the office to look at the spy. "Yes, Michael, I'm fine," she said somewhat unconvincingly.

Michael stopped on the other side of his desk and adjusted his glasses as he looked at the redhead in front of him. He was used to being summoned by Hawke and occasionally even by Dominic Santini but to hear that Caitlin was demanding his assistance was definitely unusual. As he observed the younger woman, his spy senses kicked into high gear and he could tell something was definitely off with her, she was obviously not her usual, upbeat self. "And Dom and Hawke, they're fine?" Michael asked cautiously as he stroked his moustache.

"Yes," Caitlin said softly as she nodded her head.

"So to what do I owe this abrupt visit?" Michael asked as he rounded the desk and sat down in his chair, keeping his tone and manner casual. Whatever was bothering the lady in front of him already had her on edge. Responding crassly to her as he might Stringfellow Hawke if he were here instead of Caitlin, probably wasn't going to help the situation. The spy had come to know Cait well enough to know she would tell him what he needed to know as soon as she was ready. He also knew that she wouldn't have insisted he leave a Committee meeting to see her if it wasn't important. After all, she had told Samantha that it was 'life and death'.

After another minute of staring out the window, Caitlin finally crossed the room and took a seat in front of Michael's desk. "I need help, Michael, and you're the only one that I think can provide what I need."

Michael stayed quiet as he waited for Caitlin to continue.

Caitlin squirmed in her seat as she tried to figure out where to begin her story. Finally deciding that the only way Michael would be able to help her would be if he knew the entire truth she laid it all out for him. Sparing no details it was a full 45 minutes later when she finally stopped talking. When she was done, she felt spent but yet relieved in a way as well. It felt good to be finally able to tell someone the entire truth without the fear of letting something slip that she shouldn't . Keeping secrets was hard work.

When Caitlin finished her story, Michael rose without speaking and crossed the room where he poured a glass of brandy out of the crystal decanter on the fully stocked bar in his office and then handed the glass to Caitlin as he took the chair next to her. He took the few seconds it took for her to take a few sips to gather his thoughts. To say that he was surprised at what Cait had just shared with him was an understatement. The implications it had on Airwolf missions alone was staggering. How was he going to explain this to The Committee? The uproar that had ensued when they found out Caitlin could fly Airwolf was bad enough. This could create World War III between him and his FIRM co-workers.

"Caitlin, you do realize that you're asking me to go against another US government agency? It's not something that Washington is going to be very happy about. Not to mention the fact that you are putting yourself in grave danger. Is it really worth it? Are you ready to risk your own life for this?"

"Yes, I understand that Michael," Caitlin said as she looked him straight in the eye. "And the way I see it, I really don't have a choice if I ever want to control my own destiny again. Carl Simmons has ruled my life for the last 8 years. He's dictated where I live, what my name is and who I can be. Even from 3000 miles away, locked in a jail cell, he's been my puppet master. If I do what they want then, even if it's for my own safety and well-being, then once again he's won. It's like being murdered only to be brought back to life and murdered again by the same man. How many times can I allow him to take away my life?"

Michael nodded showing that he understood. "Well then, I guess the only question left is what about Hawke and Dominic? We could use their help with Airwolf. Anyways, no matter what, you know if you're going to stay and fight this, then they're going to find out. Don't you think they deserve to hear about this from you? And sooner than later."

Telling the two pilots was the thing that Caitlin dreaded more than anything. Especially Hawke. Hawke valued loyalty and honesty above all else...how he would react when he realized that one of the few people he actually allowed himself to trust enough to let into his inner circle had been lying about everything under the sun for the last two years was not going to sit well with him to say the least. Caitlin considered him her best friend and closest confidant but wondered if that would any longer be true when everything was brought out in the open. Dominic, he'd be hurt but he'd get over it and move on. Hawke? While he would do whatever he had to to help her out, she knew he would definitely pull away from her...no matter how good her reasoning. He had been the one stumbling block in her coming to her decision.

"You're right, of course," she agreed. "I just needed to know if you were willing to help first. I can't do this without The Firm resources. If you had said no, I would have left just like they want me too. I would have had no choice. Now that you've agreed, Hawke and Dom have to be told. I was hoping to do that tonight, at the cabin."

"Do you want some support?" Michael asked as he placed his hand gently on her arm. "I'll come with you if you want me to, Caitlin."

Shaking her head, Caitlin placed the brandy snifter on the small table beside her chair and stood as Michael rose with her. "Thanks, Michael, that means a lot but I think I have to do this myself. Whatever happens I'll be back in the morning, either with or without Hawke, and we'll get things started."

Michael followed her towards the door. Stopping as she put her hand on the door knob, Caitlin turned back around to face the spy. "Thank you, MIchael. I know I'm asking a lot."

"You deserve your peace of mind, Caitlin. If I can help give that to you, it'll be worth it," he said with a smile. "Anyways, you're the only one who can seem to keep Hawke in line. I can't afford to have you leave," Michael added with a sparkle in his eye.

With a simple nod, Caitlin turned and left the office.

"Good luck, Katherine," Michael said under his breath as he watched her walk out of his office and down the hallway.

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW

Hawke walked into the hangar office wiping grease off his hands with a shop rag as Dom was hanging up the phone with a puzzled look on his face.

"Was that Caitlin?" Hawke asked.

"Yeah," Dom said with a nod.

"Well...did she say where the hell she'd gone? I still can't believe she just walked out of here knowing that she was supposed to be helping me with that camera mount this afternoon," Hawke said as he tossed the rag on the desk. When Dom didn't answer, Hawke realized that something had the older man concerned. "Dom?"

"No, String, she didn't tell me where she went. All she said is that she needed to talk to us. She wants to meet us up at the cabin tonight after dinner. She said she'd fly up around 7:00 o'clock."

"And?" Hawke prodded.

"And nothing. She said she'd explain everything tonight."

"That's it?" Hawke asked starting to understand why Dom was so disturbed. It wasn't like Caitlin to just disappear and then to be so secretive about what she was doing. Something was up.

"I don't like it, String. She didn't even sound like herself."

"Maybe we should go look for her," Hawke suggested as he was already turning to leave.

"No, she made it clear she didn't want to see us before tonight. She wouldn't even tell me where she was."

Hawke's sixth sense was suddenly on edge. He had no real evidence that Caitlin was in danger but every nerve in his body was telling him something was definitely wrong. "Fine, she has until seven...one minute late and we're going looking," he stated with conviction as Dom nodded in agreement.

TBC...

Next chapter - the story of Caitlin's past will be revealed. Thanks for the reviews and follows :)