Airwolf and all associated characters (except mine) are owned by Belisarius Productions, NBC Universal Television, Atlantis Communications. All persons described herein are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental. Copyright infringement is not intended.

Chapter 4: Unsafe Travels

15 May 2013

"I never thought we'd be coming here, of all places," Dina said as she cast her gaze around the multi-storey glass atrium that was the main section of the Humberto Delgado Airport's main terminal. "You've outdone yourself." Despite her lack of sleep on the trans-Atlantic flight, she felt energized.

Archangel and Principia had argued back and forth for some time before they'd come to the conclusion that what had been uncovered was too suspicious to ignore. While Nadine had spent a day brushing up on her rusty skills, arrangements had been made for her to go with Michael and Christina on a fact-finding mission. They were expected to report in every twelve hours and not put themselves in danger if it could be avoided.

"Tell me why we're taking the train from here instead of flying directly into Frankfurt?" complained Tina with a yawn. The younger agent had dyed her hair black to match Dina's and was wearing it in a ponytail.

"Now, now, girls," Michael said in amusement as he limped up to them. "How unassuming is it for a dignified gentleman to take his daughter and granddaughter on a holiday? The better we all get along, the easier this will be. Come, we've a bus to catch to get to the train station."

It was difficult for Dina not to react when she looked at Michael. He'd practically transformed himself since she'd last seen him: his hair, brows, and mustache were neatly trimmed and there were two blue eyes gazing from behind a pair of wire-rimmed readers. She knew that the look was thanks to makeup and a scleral prosthesis to cover his blind left eye, but it was disconcerting to her because she'd never known him without the blacked-out glasses.

Privately, she was glad that they were taking a longer trip. She'd never been to Europe and they weren't exactly in a rush to get to their destination. From Lisbon they would board an overnight train to Paris, then a high-speed train to Frankfurt, from where they had another overnight trip to Dresden. The entire journey would take a little over two days. "I have to say I've been looking forward to this," she said. "It's my first trip out of the country in ages."

It was a 45-minute bus ride to the Santa Apolonia station where they boarded the train to Paris. The three of them had the use of a sleeper berth that normally was shared by four people, but since it wasn't peak tourist season, they had the advantage of some extra space. Dina was thrilled; she had dreamed of travelling on the "Canadian" passenger train that ran from Vancouver to Toronto but neither her parents nor Lucas had ever wanted to go. This journey would more than make up for it.

She hardly needed to act at all during the trip, although it took her a while not to hesitate when she referred to Michael as "Father" instead of by his name in conversation. It helped to think of him as a father-figure, which he effectively had been during her time at the Firm. He had instilled her with the skills to survive and the courage to return to her family after her difficult parting as a teenager. Not only that, it was his reappearance that had motivated her to break out of the stale situation that she'd been mired in. She owed him.

The first part of the trip went smoothly and Dina had begun to fill her camera with photos of the scenery they passed. Halfway through the five-hour TGV leg, they were enjoying a meal in the dining car when Michael stiffened and began to watch another passenger more closely.

"What is it?" Tina asked as she tried to spot the person that Michael was looking at.

He reached across the table and tapped her arm. "Don't look or he'll get suspicious," he said quietly. "I was warned that we might be chasing ghosts with this trip, but I've just seen one. If he's the man who I think he is, he looks like he hasn't aged a day since I last saw him over twenty years ago."

Dina's eyes widened. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know," said Michael. "But right now, let's not call attention to ourselves. We're on vacation."

Their dishes had been cleared away by a server when Michael took out his smartphone and said softly, under the pretense of looking up something, "He made some kind of exchange while the other passengers were eating or occupied with the service. An accomplice is leaving the north end of the car: casual clothes, glasses, black briefcase. The man himself is making his way toward the south exit: black suit and a beret. Follow them."

The two women rose as they made pretexts of either visiting the bathroom or returning to their seat to retrieve something, and split up. Dina carefully shadowed the black-suited man through two passenger cars, but when she reached the third, he was nowhere to be seen. To her observation he'd neither sat down nor slipped past her. So where had he gone? He couldn't have left the train; the doors were locked at all times when in motion and an alarm would've sounded if they were tampered with.

She backtracked to the gangway in between the cars and immediately was buffeted by unstable air that roared through a hole in one of the flexible diaphragms that enclosed the space. Its thickness would've made it extremely difficult to cut, and the man had no weapon or cutting implement of any kind that she'd seen. That made it all the more perplexing. At the speed the train was moving, there was no way someone could've survived a leap from it.

Then she heard it. Even above the sounds of the train's wheels on the rails and the rushing of air, she heard what sounded like a wolf's howl in the distance.

She froze in shock for a moment. It was impossible.

Knowing there was nothing she could do here, she made her way back to Michael, who was having what looked like an urgent conversation with Tina. When she sat down, they both regarded her with stern faces.

"The one I followed went back to his seat," Tina said quickly. "He looked very ill. He took a syringe out of the briefcase and tried to administer it to himself, but he went into some kind of seizure before he could do so. I couldn't get close enough to see what else was in the case. There's a doctor on board who's trying to help him."

"The man I tailed is gone," Dina reported.

"Gone?" Michael repeated, stunned. "What do you mean, gone?"

She nodded. "Cut through the gangway diaphragm and jumped, as far as I could tell. But," she looked at him straight in the eyes, "I could've sworn I heard the howl."

Michael's mouth opened slightly as he gazed at her. "Are you sure?" he murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Tina asked, and Michael abruptly motioned for her to keep her voice down.

"A particular piece of aerial hardware," explained Dina carefully, "makes a sound akin to a wolf's howl when it's operated at cruising speed. I'm surprised your briefing didn't mention that."

Tina shook her head, and then all three of them traded looks, the same thought passing through their minds. What kind of acrobat would a man have to be to jump from a train moving at over 220 kph, grab a rescue ladder dangling from a helicopter, and be able hold on long enough to escape the area?

At that moment, the PA system came on, and announcements were made in French, English, and German that the train was going to be stopping in Strasbourg for longer than expected due to a medical emergency. All passengers were requested to remain in their seats for the duration.

Michael's phone pinged as he received a message, and he glanced at it before addressing his two companions. "I just received confirmation that the man I saw appeared to be Hans Keller, a professional thief and drug smuggler. Infamous across Eastern Europe back in the '80s. He should be age 63 and in prison, but clearly the man that was here was neither." He showed them a photo of the man as he'd been sitting further down the car from them earlier.

Tina stared at it. "How'd you get so clear a picture?"

He gave one of his half-smiles and tapped a finger on his left temple. "The eye sees. There's a tiny camera in the prosthesis that's controlled by certain eye movements."

"That's so James Bond," joked Dina with a grin.

"It's uncomfortable and I hate wearing it, but it's handy," Michael said. "Unfortunately, I couldn't get a shot of Keller's accomplice because he was facing away from me and moved too quickly."

"What can we do now?" Tina asked.

"Nothing," said Michael with a sigh. "We'll have to wait until we can get any news about our mysterious seizure patient. The only theory I can make at this point is that someone had plastic surgery to assume Keller's likeness, for his own or someone else's agenda. What concerns me more is that a certain machine might also be back in play. We have to be more careful from here on."

"Did you have to make it so close, Herr Vogel?" the younger man grumbled as he glared after the woman who was walking away with an empty syringe. "I felt that my shoulders were about to dislocate during that abominable escapade." He rolled down his shirt sleeve.

"Why, Mr. Keller, I thought you'd have enjoyed being once more on a… what is the English word? Caper?" The tall, burly man with icy eyes smiled and tilted his goblet of wine in the other man's direction. "Just as you would enjoy your share of the money that we stand to gain after we complete our plan." He placed the goblet on a table and casually looked over the various books on the large shelf behind him.

"You have a way of making promises, and a way of not keeping them," Keller retorted, "although so far you seem to be holding up your end of the deal." He winced as he flexed his left arm a few times. "However, we have a potential problem. I saw Archangel on that train."

Vogel turned with a look of surprise. "Archangel? Now that's a name that I haven't heard for a very long time." He rubbed his grey-streaked goatee thoughtfully. "Has the infamous American spy come out of retirement?"

"It's hard to say," said Keller. "He's much older now of course, so it's entirely possible that he's simply on vacation with the two women who were with him."

"From what I know of Archangel, nothing should be considered as coincidental. If he is nearby, there's a reason for it. This is most interesting indeed. Perhaps we could use this to our advantage."

"Is that really necessary?" Keller asked impatiently. "We are on time constraints after all, so why can't we just get on with it?"

Vogel pointed at him with a scowl. "You are on time constraints. I, on the other hand, can be flexible. Proceed to your next task, Mr. Keller, and have a little faith, hmm?"

Keller started to leave the room, and then glanced over his shoulder back at Vogel. "That's what I'm worried about."

The trio were in their berth on the sleeper train halfway between Frankfurt and Dresden early the next morning when news reports mentioned the passenger who had suddenly taken ill aboard the TGV. The man was identified as a French national by the name of Pierre Gerard. He'd been taken to hospital in Strasbourg, but he had died shortly thereafter of a massive hormonal imbalance in his body's endocrine system that doctors had been unable to correct in time. The syringe that he'd been found with was thought to have contained a drug to treat the condition, but preliminary analysis of the substance had been inconclusive. The briefcase had contained fifty thousand euros.

Dina was quick to speculate, "Perhaps Gerard was some kind of courier, and was given that case as payment for a job. Only whoever he was working for never intended for him to survive."

Michael nodded. "That's a possibility. But what did he pass along to our mystery man that was worth his life? And why would anyone take such an extreme action to escape? Even if that was really Keller, from what I remember of his methods, this isn't something that he normally would do."

"It has been a long time," Dina pointed out. "Methods change."

Tina leaned over and put her chin in her hand. "Has Principia come up with anything?"

"She just sent me Gerard's background," said Michael as he scrolled through his phone. "On the surface he was an average, law-abiding citizen. Worked in the financial sector, married with two adult children… and a young granddaughter who's suffering from a rare form of leukemia."

"Treatments," said Tina, her head snapping up. "That money was for his granddaughter."

"In exchange for confidential banking information?" Dina put in.

Michael scowled. "France has a universal health care system. He shouldn't have needed that much money unless he was using a private institution or a non-standard treatment that wasn't covered by insurance. Doing so would've been well within his means anyway."

"Desperate people do desperate things," Dina said, knowing that from experience. "We might never know the reason. Of greater concern is what info was passed and why that Keller look-alike high-tailed it so quickly. Maybe, like Gerard, he was on some form of time limit. There has to be a record of a chopper flying in that area at that time, because all aircraft are obliged to register flight plans."

"Are you even sure it was a chopper?" Tina asked. "Helicopters can't fly that fast, can they?"

"Actually, many modern ones can," Michael responded as he clumsily thumbed a text on the phone. "I've asked Principia to make the relevant inquiries but it'll take time. We'll be arriving in Dresden shortly, so how about you make a list of where you'd like to go sightseeing?"

After checking in at their hotel, the three of them had a light lunch before taking a walking tour of the historic Old Town and visiting the majestic Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. When Tina asked if there was any significance in going to the gallery, Michael responded, "A man I've known for a long time had a beautiful collection of original paintings at his cabin; he told me that he'd inherited most of them from his grandfather. I don't consider myself an art aficionado, but in memory of that friendship I've tried to visit at least one museum wherever I go."

Dina knew that he had to be referring to Stringfellow Hawke. For him to carry on such a tradition for so long made it obvious how much he'd cherished that friendship even though, as she'd heard, it had been a difficult one. "I hope the man knows how much he meant to you."

"He does," said Michael quietly. "One of the last times I saw him, he said that despite our differences, I was one of the best friends he'd ever had. High praise, coming from a man like him."

When they'd finished their walkaround and exited the building, Dina noticed that the older man was favouring his left leg more than usual. "Maybe we should head back to the hotel," she advised. "You look like you should get off your feet."

He turned to her with a twinkle in his eye. "There's no need for you to coddle me, dear," he said. "But you've got a point. Even though I've kept myself healthy all these years, I do have my limitations."

Their arrangements here, like most of the others, were quite comfortable. Two adjoining large rooms were assigned to them: Michael in one, Nadine and Christina shared the other. When they got back, in deference to their boss' fatigue, the two women decided to order room service for them all instead of going down to the restaurant. After dinner, Christina elected to check out the pool, leaving Nadine to speak to Michael at his request. "Typical youngster, not wanting to deal with the afflictions that plague the older folk," she joked when she joined him.

He chuckled as he sat in an armchair. When he stretched his legs out, he winced. "Is there ice, by any chance? I think my knee could do with some."

"I'll look." In short order she returned with a large plastic bag filled with ice cubes. "You need to relax," she observed kindly after looking him over. "It's been quite the trip so far, and who knows what we might run into tomorrow. If you'd move over to that stool, you can keep the ice on your leg while I rub your back," she offered.

His eyes went wide as he froze for an instant.

Nadine immediately knew that she'd crossed the line. "I… I'm sorry," she stammered. "I wasn't thinking. It's habit – I used to give back rubs to Lucas…" She gulped and began to turn away in embarrassment.

He grabbed her arm. "It's not that," he murmured. "Under normal circumstances I would very much appreciate your offer, our current boss-employee relationship notwithstanding. But not many people other than myself and my doctors have seen me undressed since the Moffett incident."

She nodded in understanding. He'd been one of the few survivors when Dr. Moffett had stolen Airwolf and used it to destroy the Firm's test facility. There was a great deal more damage to his body than was evident. Holding out the bag, she said, "Consider the offer withdrawn. What did you want to talk to me about?"

With a heavy sigh, Michael took the ice and arranged it to his liking on his left knee before replying. "First, I wanted to thank you for your help so far."

"I really haven't done that much."

"It still needs to be said," he insisted. "Second, you're a good example for Christina. Despite her eagerness, I've been informed that she has difficulty with certain aspects of this job and will need guidance. Oh, she's intelligent and knows her stuff, but she tends to be impulsive, and sometimes hesitates when confronted with the unexpected. Plus, she can't wrap her head around the fact that she might end up in a situation where she'll have to kill someone."

"It took me a while to accept that," Nadine reminded him.

"That's true," he acknowledged, "but you were younger then than she is now." His tone softened. "That was my one real regret, to have put you in that position in the first place."

She clasped his shoulder. "I chose to put myself in that position, Michael. It's rather late to be worrying about it now, don't you think?"

He smiled and gave a quick shake of his head. "You're right. Now then, about tomorrow. The three of us are registered for a special tour of Alpensegler, which as you know is the restored castle belonging to Dr. Vogel. We will all need to be alert for anything out of the ordinary, but make it clear to Christina that she is not to go off on her own."

"Do you believe that something might happen?"

Michael frowned. "Let's just say that something about this entire affair makes me nervous."