CHAPTER 21 - FLIGHT

The trip to the airfield passed in a blur for Kate. Her meds wore off but the pain was almost as effective at dulling her senses. Rick drove as fast as he could, his knuckles going white as he gripped the wheel. Kate was in the passenger seat, a cold sweat covering her body. She was mumbling nonsense, mostly just sounds, not even words. The seat was tipped back so she would be more comfortable but she was shaking with pain.

"You're going to be okay," he told her. Kate opened her eyes at the sound of his voice.

"I know," she muttered. "Shut up, quit worrying, and drive."

Rick laughed. "You're doing better than I thought you were."

"I've had worse," she said shortly.

"I don't even like to think about it."

"Then..." she winced. "Don't. Do me a favour though. Pull over at the next gas station and get some pain killers or something."

He nodded and began to drive even faster, scanning the road for signs of somewhere with a store.

The pills, when Rick managed to get some, made very little difference. Kate had known they wouldn't, but she pretended they had more of an impact than they did. It would make Rick feel better.

They reached the airfield in the middle of the afternoon. It was deserted; there were no cars in the car park. Kate told Rick to park inside one of the hangars so their presence would be less obvious. She soon saw what she needed – a little fighter jet. It was old; too old fashioned for military use. That was probably why it was here; though of military grade, the hanger seemed neglected. Kate didn't think the army had used this area for a while. She could see an office, though, and the light was on. So they weren't completely alone. There would be CCTV. She put a finger to her lips and looked around for fuel canisters; they were still sitting in the car.

Rick had to lift her out so she could inspect the plane. It seemed to be in working order. She told him just to leave her on the floor while she explained how to fill up the fuel tank and load in an emergency supply. He wasn't as hopeless as he might have been; he had good intuition. Kate told him to keep an eye on the office but there was no movement from it. Maybe the light was just a deterrent. She couldn't believe the place was so unguarded. Something was wrong. She was too weak and preoccupied to figure out what, but there was definitely something up. She suspected they were not the only ones to illegally use this place.

Rick lifted her up gently and put her in the cockpit. She groaned as she was forced into a sitting position but after adjusting herself slightly, she assured Rick that she would be okay. He got into the seat behind her and she told him how to start the engine. So far so good – it shuddered to life and they taxied the plane out to the runway. There were cracks in the tarmac with weeds growing through them. The plane was old... Maybe there was no one here because the sight was deemed worthless. That would make sense-

A blindingly loud alarm sent Rick into full panic mode. He looked behind them to see flashing red lights; the alarm was coming from the hangar. Kate was actually relieved. It meant things were less weird than she'd thought. It must have CCTV or motion monitoring or something.

She reached out for the controls and took charge, cursing as the wound in her stomach sent pain searing all over her body. They had to take off before they were stopped. Rick managed to calm himself down and they got into the air. Kate wondered if the plane had a tracker. She looked at the controls and saw it easily – it was so old, it was just a little beacon thing that could be turned off. She flicked the switch and Rick laughed.

"Was that the tracker? What was the point of it?"

"Someone who didn't know about planes would probably not have noticed. If they were just stealing it... And it's not worth much anyway."

"Will it get us across the Atlantic?"

Kate smiled. "Yeah. It's weird to be going back."

"It might be over soon," Rick said thoughtfully.

"It's only been a few days. You're talking as though it's been a battle lasting for years."

"It feels like years. I don't feel like... I know this sounds strange but when I'm with you it's as though I've never known anything else. I just feel like this is where I should be."

Kate bit her lip. It was so sweet of him to say so. But it was wrong. She was dangerous. Even if she solved this problem, there would be another within weeks, and he would be dragged into it. No. They would fix this, and he would go home. She would find some other life. She would go back to doing her job.

But how? How could she be Sierra, now that she was Kate?

Maybe she would leave. Retire from the service. Do something else. Work as a waitress, work in a store, go back to college and get a degree and then work as a teacher or doctor or lawyer.

None of these were really options. She wouldn't be fit for them. She couldn't see herself ever getting closure...

The sky was beginning to seem a little blurry-

"Kate? Kate! Are you okay?"

Rick was sitting behind her and hadn't noticed straight away that she had slipped down in her seat. He began to try everything he could think of to get a coherent response but she was just murmuring and... crying, he thought. He couldn't see her but he recognised the sound.

To his horror, he realised he was now flying the plane. He knew where they were going; the compass told him what direction to head and they were just flying over the sea. But what if she was still out of it when they had to land? He tried not to think about that now. He had played video games with aeroplanes... he knew roughly what you had to do.

When Kate still wasn't responding an hour later Rick started to get desperate. He shook her shoulders and splashed some water on her, shouting her name. She jerked when he moved her and he winced. He must have hurt her.

"Ca- Castle?" she slurred.

"Yes! Kate, it's me, and I really need you to focus. I need you to stay awake and talk to me."

"I...mm..iii...hurts," she managed. Rick stroked her shoulder gently; he couldn't reach the rest of her.

"I know it hurts and I'm so sorry but I can't do anything for you. Do you know where we are?"

There was a pause while she mumbled little groans of pain.

"We're... plane. To London."

Rick squeezed the shoulder. "Yes, that's right."

The plane hit some turbulence and jolted.

"Dammit..." Kate said slowly. "Who's... flying this thing?"

Rick laughed, surprised but pleased.

"I am. It's nice to see you're still such a kind person, even when you're in pain."

Kate smiled; Rick didn't see it but he could hear it in her voice.

"An' iss nice to... know I'mmm still better... than you ah... at... everything."

Rick chuckled. "Yes, you really are. Tell me something – how do I land?"

"...You press... the button... that says land. It... it starts the landing... cycle."

"Oh. That's pretty simple."

"You have to steer... and pull up the nose. With the... stick. Otherwise... we'll be diving head first into a... into a very hard runway."

Kate's breathing was getting faster and more uneven.

"Try to relax, Kate. Breath gently, keep calm."

Kate managed to steady her breathing a little but her breaths were still punctuated with little gasps of pain. Rick wished he could do something for her but aside from comforting words, there was no way for him to help until they landed.

It was the middle of the night when he had to land, in a small airfield which Kate said was fairly under the radar. They would have to find somewhere for her to recover before they could continue their plan; right now, she wasn't in a fit state to have a conversation, let alone hold her own in a fight.

Rick managed to land without any problems. Kate was a little better; she was speaking more clearly and seemed more alert. He hoped they would be able to find somewhere close with a bed for her to rest in. But he had a nasty feeling that she would need a doctor. Soon.

He hauled her out of the plane and didn't even let her attempt to walk. He carried her towards a little building with a light on; when they got closer he saw a guard inside, drinking tea and watching television on a small, portable set. He banged on the door and the guard opened it. When he saw them he looked a mixture of curious and afraid. Rick moved past him to lay Kate on the small couch in the room, then approached the guard.

"Hello. What's your name?"

"Uh... Steve," the man replied.

"Right. Steve. I'm Ryan. It's nice to meet you. Do you know any doctors?"

"What?"

"Do you have any friends who might be able to help my friend?"

Steve looked at Kate uncertainly. "She looks like she needs a hospital... There's one not far-"

"I can't take her to hospital. Please just answer my question."

Steve wiped his forehead. "Actually, my wife is a surgeon-"

"Perfect! Where is she?"

"At home, with my kids. Look, are you going to hurt me?"

"No. Where is your home?"

"It's only about ten minutes away in the car-"

"And you have your car here?"

"Yes."

"I need to borrow it."

"But I..."

"Your wife will come and get you." Rick held out his hand for the keys. Steve's immediate compliance might have had something to do with the fact that he had Kate's glock tucked into his waistband. Rick realised he would have to be even more threatening, though.

"If you care about your wife, you will not tell anyone we were here. Okay?"

Steve nodded. Rick patted him on the shoulder.

"Thank you. Now, please call your wife to wake her up. Don't tell her anything; this isn't a secure line. If you can think of a way to warn her that no one else will understand, go for it. And if anyone comes and asks about that plane, tell them you saw it land and one large man got out, but you didn't get a good look at him and you didn't think anything of it."

"It's not my job to look at arrivals. I'm just here to watch after the planes that are here already."

"Exactly."

Rick turned to Kate to see that she was smiling. She winked at him.

"We'll be going now. Nice chatting with you, Steve."

Steve now looked as though he was sure he was dreaming. Rick lifted Kate up again and took her to the car. He strapped her into the back seat and kissed her forehead.

"I'm taking you to see a doctor now-"

"Yes, I know. I was there. You don't have to treat me like an idiot just because of the bullet wound!"

Rick laughed. "Sorry. Wasn't thinking."

"I'm not surprised. Drive, please."

Rick hurried to the front seat and started the engine. He could identify with Steve's feeling that this was all far too weird and complicated to be real.