Airwolf made short time of the trip to Colorado and they were soon approaching the landing location. The dead drop site was near a local park, frequented by dog walkers and joggers. The park led off into some woodland where there were some old gold miners shacks and it was one of these that was used to hide the small cylinder containing the coded information that Archangel was so desperate to get his hands on.

"I'd feel happier if I was coming with you." said Cait as String appeared from changing out of his flight suit into civilian clothing.

"The more I think about this Cait, the less I like the fact that we don't know exactly what we are walking into, so I need you to stay with the Lady." replied String.

"I know" replied Cait "How long do you think it will take you to walk to the park?"

String opened the map.

"It should only take about 40 minutes, which is long enough, but we just can't risk taking the Lady in any closer. So, allow me a further 20 minutes to find the dead drop and 40 minutes back, OK?"

"Sure, OK. I'll be waiting."

String stepped in and took Cait into an embrace before turning and heading out on the walk towards the park.

"String!" said Cait

String turned and looked back.

"You definitely have the radio in your pocket, yes?"

String tapped his pocket. "It's here Cait, don't worry."

The route String had picked to access the shack was via the woodland that bordered it. Whilst there was still public access it would be quieter than getting to the dead drop location through the park itself. Archangel had provided a plan of the remaining mining shacks and highlighted the one being used as the drop site. String glanced at his watch, he had made good time and was approaching the shacks ahead of schedule. It would be good to get back to Cait more quickly than anticipated. Positioning himself out of sight, String stopped and listened to see if there was any indication of anyone else being in the woods, either a member of the public or if anyone was watching the location. All String could hear was a group of children playing off in the distance so after a while he moved towards the shack. It was clearly a popular hang-out for the local youth and was covered in graffiti, with several Budweiser cans scattered about on the ground. String stepped inside and headed to the old range, which still remained after all these years. He slid his hand down behind it and expected to feel the hidden cylinder with his fingers. Nothing. It was quite dark in the shack but instinctively String tried to look down behind the range to see if the cylinder had somehow got displaced. As he did so, he felt a sharp pain to the back of his head, and everything went black.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cait poured herself another cup of coffee and checked her watch. It had been an hour and a half since String left her, so he should be back soon. She also thought having seen the time, that without this mission, she would be at home getting ready for her date with Ben now. Her mind drifted back to the kiss between them. It had felt great, and Ben was great, and she really was looking forward to seeing him again. But. There was always a but. Well, there had been since she had come to California looking for Stringfellow Hawke anyway. She had fancied him from the moment she laid eyes on him as he stood leaning against the bars of the gaol cell in Pope County. But her feelings for him had only grown deeper as time had passed. She had almost told Dom on that fateful day when they learnt String had been brainwashed in an attempt to take Airwolf from them. Sadly, there was never any hint that String felt the same way about her. Cait knew he cared for her and would always look out for her, but she was a young woman and she needed more than just a friend in her life, so moving on had to be the best thing to do. Despite knowing this, it didn't make it any easier, she couldn't just turn off how she felt about String.

String should be back by now thought Cait as she walked to the front of the Lady, leaned lightly on her nose and looked into the trees for any sign of String's return. 2 hours had now passed. Sliding into the cockpit she picked up the radio.

"Hawke, it's Cait, come in please."

Silence

"Hawke, it's Cait, come in please."

Silence.

Cait bit her lip. If something had happened to String and they had found the radio, they would know he wasn't alone. There was nothing on the scanners, but even so, perhaps the best thing to do was get the Lady in the air and head to the dead drop site. Cait's stomach knotted as she pressed 'Start 1' and the Lady's familiar engines kicked into life and she was soon lifting off and heading towards the miner's shacks. Cait flew high enough to avoid too much attention from the ground. Flying over the shacks she switched on all available scanners, including audio, but all she could hear were some children playing. There were no heat sources or any movement near the dead drop site. Turning she flew back over String's proposed route from the landing site to the shacks. Just one man walking his dog. One further pass over the area also yielded no sign of String. He had vanished. Cait felt sick, but she had proven herself to be more than capable of handling herself in these situations, so she took a deep breath and hit the radio button.

"Angel 1, Angel 1, this is Airwolf" said Cait into the radio.

"This is Angel 1" came Archangel's reply. "You have news for me Cait?"

"Can you meet me at Twin Oaks Michael? String has disappeared."