Wolf Hunt
By Lady Chal
Disclaimer:
All Characters are the property and genius of Donald Bellisario, who hopefully won't sue me for playing with them a while. The exception to this being Melvin Frohicke, who briefly jumped ship from Chris Carter and the X-Files to take a detour tending bar outside a dinky airfield in the California desert in 1986. (But hey, considering Frohicke's questionable background, it's not all that impossible, is it?) The characters of Steve and Brenda Lansing belong to me.
Rating: PG -13 (mild language)
Classification: Adventure / Character Death
Spoilers: Everything up through the end of the 3rd season and the opening of Season 4.
Authors Notes: I still have never seen an episode of the fourth season, but have found out enough about it on some of the wonderful Airwolf fan sites out there to figure out what it was about. I confess I was never quite happy with the way they handled the cast changes, --especially Dom and String. I'm still in denial, although I suppose it does make for a nice dose of tragedy. But what really bugged me was the way they left Caitlin and Li hanging out there without any mention. What happened to them? Like Archangel, I never believed they would go without a fight. So, this is my attempt at explaining a few of those unanswered questions from that first fourth season episode within the framework of the show's cannon. My apologies if I've gotten some details wrong. –Like I said, I've never actually seen the fourth season.
Summary: (Missing sub-plot for "Black Jack")When a tragedy strikes Santini Air, suspicion falls upon new faces at the Firm and Caitlin must carry out Hawke's final wish to see his nephew to safety.
Starring:
Jean Bruce Scott as Caitlin O'Shaughnessy
Jan Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke
Ernest Borgnine as Dominic Santini
Michelle Scarabelli as Josephine Santini
Geraint Wyn Davies as Maj. Mike Rivers
Anthony Sherwood as Jason Locke
John Dye as Doc Gifford
Guest Starring:
Tom Braidwood as Melvin
Robert Patrick as Steve Lansing
Kathleen York as Brenda Lansing
Scott Glenn as Calvin Mackenzie
Kieran Culkin as Stevie
Prologue: I'll Be Seeing You
Tuesday, July 22, 1986
Fort Stewart, Georgia
The oppressive August heat slammed into Caitlin O'Shaughnessy like a wall as she exited from the relative cool of the dining hall into the Georgia afternoon. The noon weather report had claimed it was only 95 degrees, but in the still and muggy air it felt like a hundred and ten. She was used to hot weather, having lived most of her life in the dry plains of west Texas, and most recently, in California, but her three week stay in Georgia had her convinced of the old adage. It's not the heat, she thought glumly. It's the humidity.
She strode decisively across the parade ground towards the PX, where a bank of pay phones and more air conditioning awaited. She hadn't talked to Dom or String in nearly a week, and it wouldn't hurt to remind them that someone would need to pick her up when the Guard unit arrived back home in California on Saturday. She smiled as she fished around in her pocket for change. No doubt Dom would still be griping about her being gone this long. Heck, he griped when she was called away for weekend maneuvers, let alone the three-week intensive training she'd been ordered on this time. She knew he understood, though. National Guard duty was the price she'd had to pay for her pilot's license. She would have never been able to afford the flying lessons or training on her own. Thus far, it hadn't cost her anything but her time and the truth of the matter was that she enjoyed it.
Up until she'd met Dom and String, flying choppers for the Guard's med-evac unit was the most exciting thing she'd ever done. Understandable, when her pilot's job with the Pope County Sheriff's department had amounted to little more than being a "flying meter-maid." Then Stringfellow Hawke had come along and changed all that. The moment he had swooped in and rescued her from Sheriff Bogan and his goons, she had known her flying-meter maid days were numbered. She wouldn't be satisfied until she'd tracked down the mysterious Hawke and his big black chopper.
She quickly shut the door on the path her thoughts had taken as she hurried into the cool of the PX. No one was supposed to know about the Lady, and it was easier to keep the secret if she didn't think about it. Lately though, it hadn't been easy. The med-evac units were in the process of switching over from the old Hueys to Black Hawks, and the three-week training session had been ordered to familiarize all pilots with the complexities of the new machine. Caitlin had sailed through the course with ease. She was already quite familiar with the Black Hawk type chopper, from the wheeled landing gear to the computerized console and automated on-board systems. If she closed her eyes with her hand on the stick, she could almost imagine herself in the Lady, but all similarities ended there. The engines, the speed and handling, and automated systems were nothing compared to the Lady's capabilities. Compared to Airwolf, the military Black Hawk she'd been assigned was a child's toy.
She sighed, disgusted with herself as she reached the bank of phones and dropped her change into the nearest one. So much for not thinking about things she shouldn't be thinking about. She punched in the number for the hangar, and waited an eternal twelve rings before a familiar voice came on the line.
"Santini Air."
"Hey, Dom, it's me. How are things going out there?"
"Kate!" Dominic Santini's voice boomed with warmth and jubilation, "Hey kiddo! I been startin' to think you dropped off the face of the earth. A couple more days and I would have worried that you crashed or something."
"A couple more days and I'll be halfway home." Caitlin said wistfully. "Believe me; I can't wait to get back. I think I've had more than enough of the beautiful state of Georgia."
Dom chuckled. "Oh yeah? Well, we'll be glad to have you back. String and I have been absolutely swamped! Between doing two movies and covering charter flights for one of the directors, we've barely had our feet on the ground. If Archangel up and decides to send us out on another errand, we'll really be up a creek."
Caitlin sighed. "Ah, Dom I'm sorry. I know this really put you in a pinch, but you know I couldn't get out of it. I only have another year of this and Uncle Sam and I will be square. Don't worry though; I'll be back before you know it."
"It's ok, Katie." Dom assured her. "We're making do. My niece Josie came home to visit for a couple weeks and has been helping us out. In fact, String's taking her up in the Ranger right now to show her the layout for tomorrow's shoot. She's gonna stick around a couple more weeks and help us dig out from all these bookings."
"That's great, Dom. With both of us women on the job we'll get you dug out in no time." Caitlin said, hoping the enthusiasm she put in her voice sounded sincere. She hadn't had a great deal of luck in getting along with the Santini women. She could only hope that Dom's other relative was more personable than Holly had been. –Especially considering Holly had nearly killed her not once, but three times.
"Listen, Dom." Caitlin said, bringing him back to the subject at hand. "We're going to be back at Andrews on Saturday. I can catch a ride over to Reilly's field. Can you send somebody to pick me up, say around 4:00?"
"Sure thing, kiddo, I'll do it myself." Dom said. She could hear him slamming desk drawers and knew that he was fishing around for a pencil to jot a note in the calendar. "So tell me," he said, sounding only half distracted. "How do you like flying those fancy new whirly-birds?"
"They're nice." She said honestly, "Nicer than the Hueys anyway, but they're nothing like our girl."
"Ahh.." Dom chuckled warmly. "Nothing is, Kiddo. Nothing is."
She could hear the faint murmur of a distant voice in the background and the slamming of the heavy, metal access door.
"Yeah, be right there!" Dom's voice was loud but muffled as he clamped his hand over the mouthpiece and then cleared as he spoke again to her. "Listen, Kate, I gotta go. The delivery guy's here with a package I gotta sign for. Boy, I sure hope it's those parts for the Stearman. We're two days overdue on the shoot already and if we don't get that bird up in the air, the director's gonna find another pilot."
Caitlin smiled, she had a pretty good idea of what String was going to be doing tonight, and he wasn't going to be thrilled about it. The Stearman was definitely not his favorite plane to work on. "All right Dom. Take care and fly straight. I'll be seeing you guys on Saturday."
"Saturday, Katie. 4:00 PM sharp. I'll be waiting." Dom assured her.