VIOLATION
Chapter 4
"..Always remember, I'm doing this because I love you so much that I have no other choice."
"He has no other choice?! What in the blazes is that boy thinking? Of course he has another choice!" Dominic Santini bellowed to no one in particular as Michael turned off the video he received from Hawke a few hours before.
Dom's flight had just arrived back from Italy and Michael had made sure that he was picked up at the airport and brought directly to his office before even going to the hospital to see Cait.
Suddenly Dom appeared very tired and sank down into one of Michael's chairs across from the operative's desk.
"Mamma Mia, Michael, what is going on here? I leave on a vacation only to be called back because Horn's on the loose again, Caitlin's been..well, attacked…, and now I find out that String has run off into the sunset to slay dragons and says he's never coming back!" Dominic laid his head in his hands and sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, which at this moment, Michael surmised, it probably was.
On instinct, Michael began to make some biting remark about the fact that Hawke was taking Airwolf with him but at the last minute decided against it. He knew as soon as The Committee heard about Hawke running off with the helicopter there would be hell to pay but right now he also understood that Dom was more concerned about his friends, or his 'family' as he would have put it, more than any piece of technology. Michael would deal with the fallout later but now even he realized there were more important things to deal with.
Taking a seat next to Dom, Michael uncharacteristically put a hand on the older man's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "Dom, I wish I had better news for you but I don't. Predictably, String isn't answering any attempts we've made to contact him through Airwolf communications and we've tried to at least locate Airwolf by radar, but so far we've had no luck. We'll keep trying."
"Does Cait know?" Dom asked in weary voice.
"No. She's got enough to deal with right now without seeing this. We were kind of hoping we could keep it from her and find Hawke and get him back here before she ever knew anything about it. So far, we've been able to but she's starting to ask for him. Marella's deflecting her questions but you know how stubborn she can be…pretty soon she's going to start demanding some answers."
Dom just nodded his head in agreement as he stood. "Speaking of which I really need to go see her. Can you have someone take me over there? "
"Of course, Dom. There's a car already waiting for you downstairs."
"Thanks, Michael. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on things but I appreciate all you're doing. I know you have a lot on your plate too what with String running off like a damn fool. At least I know Caitlin was in good hands." Stopping as he got to the door of Michael's office, Dom turned back towards the agent with a distressed look on his face. "My God, Michael, what am I going to say to her? How do I deal with what's happened?"
"Look, Dom, I'm not going to tell you that the Caitlin you are going to see is the same woman you left two weeks ago. She's been through hell and she's still trying to process what happened last night. All I can tell you is to be gentle and let her know that you're there for her. She may resist you at first, she's feeling ashamed, embarrassed, frightened and a whole bunch of other things right now and she's probably going to do her best to push you away. The important thing is that you don't let her." Michael explained sympathetically. He knew exactly the way Dom felt, he had felt the same way when he first went in to see Caitlin at the hospital.
"Ashamed? Embarrassed? Well that's crazy, Michael. She didn't do anything wrong!"
"You and I know that, Dom, but as a rape victim, it's going to take her some time to get over those feelings. It's actually a normal reaction. Our job is to make sure those feelings don't get validated. Now, go, she needs you Dom and I think you probably need to see her, too." The agent prodded with a kind smile.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Keep in touch, huh? I want to know anything you find out about String!" Dom instructed as he finally headed out the door.
"Of course, Dom. You'll know when I do." (Let's just hope I find something to tell you, and quickly!), thought Michael as he watched Dom leave thinking the poor man looked 10 years older than when he had left on his trip just two short weeks ago.
AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW
Afraid of what he might find on the other side of the door, Dominic stood in the hallway trying to convince himself to enter Cait's hospital room. Just as he was about to push open the door, it opened from the other side and he found himself face to face with Marella.
"Hey Dom, good to have you back," she said quietly as she shut the door behind her leaving her and Dom in the hallway.
"Wish I could say the same, Marella. How's our girl?"
"Sleeping for the moment. Why don't we go get a cup of coffee and let her get some rest? We won't stay away long," Marella was already easing Dom down the hall as she was speaking. "She's actually been asleep for about an hour. I didn't want to wake her as it appears to be the first real sleep she's had since she's been here."
"I thought Michael told me they gave her some sedatives last night?" Dom inquired with a worried look on his face.
"They did but she kept having nightmares and waking up yelling. It was a long night for everyone," Marella explained. "I'm sorry, Dom, that all of this has happened and now with String having flown the coop, it's kind of all been left on you to deal with. You know I'll help anyway I can." Marella smiled sweetly at the older man as she handed him a styrofoam cup full of coffee.
"I know, Marella. I don't know how, but we'll all get through this, it's what families do." Dom responded with the slightest of smiles. "Let's go back, Marella. I need to see her, even if it's just to watch her sleep. I need to know she's okay and I want her to know I'm here. Oh and Marella, thank you."
"For what, Dominic?"
"For giving me that extra boost I needed to see our girl in there. I know what you were doing, giving me time to get my head on straight, and I appreciate it," Dom rewarded the agent with a kiss on the check as they headed back towards Cait's room.
AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW
It had been almost 24 hours since Hawke had taken Airwolf out of the liar on his search for John Bradford Horn. So far he had been unable to turn up any leads and nothing had turned up at any of Horn's known locales. Frustration and a need for sleep had long ago set in. Fuel was also getting low and he knew that at some point in the very new future he would either have to return The Lady to her lair or contact Michael to arrange a refuel. Neither option seemed like a good one to him at the moment.
For the time being, Hawke had Airwolf concealed at an old abandoned air strip, using some old plane relics as false radar cover, a trick he and Dom had employed several times in the past. "I wonder if Dom is back yet," String wondered as he ate an MRE from the supplies that he had stocked the helicopter with. " If he is, I'm sure Michael has shown him the video by now. And Cait, I wonder how she's doing and if she knows I'm gone yet." String actually felt a slight pain in his chest as he experienced a quick flashback to when he had first found Caitlin in the hanger, battered and bruised and scared to death. Physically and mentally exhausted, String knew that he couldn't let that stop him on his hunt, not after the pain he had caused to both Cait and Dominic. If nothing else, he owed them Horn's head on a platter and he planned to give it to them. There was no time for sleeping now.
Forcing himself to get back up, Hawke headed back towards Airwolf to continue his search. As he approached the plane he heard the beacon from the monitor telling him there was an incoming transmission on the video feed. "Well if nothing else, I'll give Michael one thing, he's persistent", he thought to himself as he opened the chopper door. As he had been doing since he left, Hawke planned on ignoring this beacon, and there had been many others. Michael must have given orders to his staff to try and make contact every hour on the hour.
Just as String had replaced his helmet and had started powering up Airwolf, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Although he hadn't answered the call, a face suddenly appeared on the video monitor. The face of one John Bradford Horn.
"Well, Stringfellow Hawke, how nice to see you again. "
"Horn! What the hell? How did you break into this frequency?" Hawke quickly fired back.
"Oh come now, Mr. Hawke, don't you remember that I know almost as much about Airwolf's operating systems as you do? Goodness knows I've been studying them for long enough. You know I want to be ready when you hand her over to me. And you will be handing her over, very soon."
"Listen, you son of a bitch, I don't know what you're game is but I'm going to find you and I guarantee that the only part of this bird you'll ever get your hands on is the missile that she shoots right between your eyes to blow you into a million pieces!"
"Actually, while quite eloquently put, that's not true, Mr. Hawke. I have a feeling you'll be handing her over quite willingly."
"Like Hell, Horn!" Hawke's rage was reaching well beyond its boiling point and he had long ago lost his patience with this man. "If you're so damn sure though, why don't you tell me where and when to meet you and we'll see who comes out alive!"
"All in due time, Mr. Hawke but you seem a little out of sorts. Perhaps these details would better be worked out through a mediator. I don't know, perhaps a certain redheaded co-worker of yours would be willing to help us out. I hear that she was quite gracious to a friend of mine last night when he came by to pay her a visit. I'm told she's quite the lovely girl. As a matter of fact, he's hoping to pay her another visit very soon…"
Hawke could feel his chest constrict with fear as he thought of Caitlin having to endure anything else that this madman might dish out. He knew he had no choice but to give in to Horn's demands.
"Okay, okay, you win Horn. You just tell me what you want and I'll lay Airwolf at your feet. Anything you want, just don't bother the girl ever again." Hawke felt completely defeated and deflated but knew at the same time he was doing what had to be done. What happened to Airwolf or himself didn't' matter as long as he knew Cait would be safe.
"Now that's more like it" Horn said smugly. "Hang tight and I'll be sending you instructions and coordinates within the hour." And with that the video clicked off and Horn was gone.
TBC…
A/N: I hope you are still enjoying the story. If so, or even if not, drop me a review and let me know what you think. The muse likes reviews and it keeps her going