Caitlin was almost humming as she scanned Airwolf's systems with an experienced eye. It wasn't often she got to be in Airwolf without being under Dom's watchful eye. She checked the radar profile and their coordinates. They'd reach the safe house in less than thirty minutes. She crisply informed Hawke of the ETA and punched in the computer disc again to bring up the information Marella had supplied. She checked and rechecked the coordinates of where they were heading. It was a farm in Maine, supposedly an NSA safe house. She scanned through the data; current plans of the farm with a detailed analysis of the security layout.

'OK. What is it?' Hawke's voice rumbled through the headset.

'What's what?'

'Whatever's got your attention back there.' Hawke kept his eyes on the sky ahead. He could see clouds ahead in the distance.

'Just looking over the security procedures at the safe house.' Caitlin shifted in her seat. 'It's pretty tight.'

'Yeah.' Hawke said. 'Makes you wonder what this package is.'

'What do you think the package is?' Her voice was filled with her innate curiosity.

'I don't.' Hawke said firmly. 'Assuming only gets you surprised.'

Caitlin sighed. 'Right.' She glanced at the monitors and ran a scan. 'We have a storm ahead. Want to adjust course?'

'We'll fly over it.' Hawke raised their altitude and Caitlin made the necessary system adjustments to compensate.

The storm was still raging when they reduced altitude to approach the safe house a little while later. Rain washed over Airwolf in waves reducing visibility and the harsh wind rocked her as she zipped through the grey sky.

'Hawke, I'm picking up the farm now. One main structure and two outbuildings; perimeter fence is electrified. There's some heavy artillery down there – one anti-aircraft gun stationed on the roof and a chopper with the works parked in outbuilding one. I'm reading six, no seven people. Two are patrolling in a land vehicle, three in the farmhouse, two on the ground by the second outbuilding which is indicated as our LZ.'

Hawke turned and exchanged a quick look with Caitlin. 'Let's take her in and see what happens.' He eased off her speed and brought Airwolf in at the other end of the farm from the patrol – no need for them to get a look at her – and stopped to hover above their landing zone, parallel with the barn roof. A man waved at them in greeting.

'He's keeping his gun holstered.' Caitlin commented.

'OK.' Hawke switched on the landing gear and brought Airwolf down with the gentlest of bumps. He followed the man's directions and drove the aircraft forward into the well-lit barn. He brought her to a halt and they climbed out to stand by her nose, trying to ease out the kinks of their travelling without being too obvious. He scanned their surroundings; the barn wasn't a barn, more like a large garage. Weapons and armaments stood to the back, including an armoured car. There was a computer terminal and surveillance equipment on a table to one side of them and on the other side, a small black and white television stood on another console. The outside gate of the farm was flickering into focus on its screen, its reception disturbed by the storm outside; the heavy patter of rain was clear on the wooden roof.

Hawke suppressed the urge to shiver as the cold air found its way through the Airwolf uniform and returned his attention to the two men. Hawke took their measure as they walked over. The older man was in his thirties; slim built, tanned and with brown hair just an inch too long curling onto his collar. His eyes were constantly scanning, his posture loose and ready with a light easy step that hardly made a noise; an experienced predator. The younger man was fair, still in his twenties, still inexperienced enough not to have that edge, a rookie judging by his nervousness and precision smartness. They were both viewing the helicopter with open admiration.

'Carmichael?' Hawke asked, careful to keep his tiredness out of his voice, his blue eyes landing on the elder man.

'I am. You must be Captain Hawke.' He held out a hand and Hawke shook it before gesturing at his co-pilot and engineer.

'This is Caitlin.' Hawke rarely offered her last name, a small protection to prevent her being tracked down too easily even though he knew it was absurd given her position at Santini Air.

'A pleasure.' Carmichael took her hand, giving it a business-like shake whilst the hint of a charming smile flitted across his lips. 'My colleague, Smith.' He introduced the fair man standing next to him before his gaze returned to Airwolf. 'This is quite a machine.' His brown eyes caught Hawke's. 'I hear something similar got destroyed in Libya last year.'

'I hear the same thing.' Hawke returned easily.

Carmichael tilted his head and nodded accepting the non-answer. Fencing around truth and lies was like breathing to an agent. 'Let's go up to the house. I'm sure you could do with some tea…'

'We're fine here.' Hawke cut in and folded his arms. His blue eyes narrowed. 'You were going to brief us.'

Carmichael stilled. 'We'll be more comfortable up at the house.'

Hawke shrugged, folded his arms and leaned against Airwolf. His intention was clear; he was staying. Caitlin looked at the ground so the NSA agents wouldn't see the amusement dancing in her eyes.

Carmichael frowned. 'Your file said you were a pain in the backside.'

Hawke gave no reaction beyond a slightly raised eyebrow.

Carmichael sighed. 'Smith.' He held a hand out and the younger man reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and brought out a rolled up folder. He handed it to his superior; Carmichael handed it to Hawke. His eyes lit up momentarily in surprise as the pilot handed it off to Caitlin who began to flip through the contents. He cleared his throat and returned his attention to Hawke.

'The package is a man called James Anthony Byrne.'

Hawke stiffened imperceptibly. 'Byrne's a traitor.'

Caitlin's eyes shot to him; Hawke knew the guy?

Carmichael nodded. 'A FIRM employee who defected from the US to the Russians in eighty-two after being discovered trying to sell classified information to them by one Stringfellow Hawke.'

Hawke frowned. He was going to kill Michael; didn't know what the package was - bullshit. He hadn't told them because he knew Hawke would have refused the mission.

'A week ago Byrne stole Russian designs for a prototype helicopter. The designs are very similar to that of that US helicopter we were saying was supposedly destroyed in Libya. Byrne turned up at the British embassy asking for asylum. They're always loath to upset an ally so they contacted us. We contacted your people.' Carmichael continued reading the pilot's desire to scrap the mission.

'He's using the designs as his ticket back into the US.' Caitlin read.

'For him and his Russian wife, Tanya.' Carmichael agreed. 'I don't know the exact deal he made but I do know he drove a hard bargain.'

Hawke scowled. The FIRM was going to let the little weasel walk away from a treason charge. 'Where is he exactly?'

Carmichael looked a little confused. 'Well, as we informed your people, there's been a delay.'

'A delay?' Hawke bit out.

'Byrne and his wife won't arrive until the early hours of the morning, oh-three hundred to be exact.' Smith expanded.

Hawke resisted the urge to thump something.

Carmichael cleared his throat. 'You're welcome to come up to the house and wait there, grab some food.'

Caitlin glanced over to Hawke and caught the suppressed rage lurking in the blue depths. 'We're fine.' Caitlin said when Hawke didn't bother replying.

Carmichael sighed and pointed at the back of the barn. 'This place is used as a secondary base to monitor the house security so there's a small bathroom out the door to your left.' He looked at Hawke. 'Patrol will stop by to check on you periodically. I'll contact you when they arrive.'

Hawke nodded in acknowledgement.

Carmichael headed out without another word, Smith following at his heels. The barn door opened letting in a waft of freezing air before they were closed again. Hawke didn't move until the door was shut.

'Dammit.' He muttered, turning around and leaning over Airwolf. He gestured at the folder Caitlin had in her hands. 'What's in there?'

'Pretty much what he said.' Caitlin handed him a photo.

It was of Byrne and his wife. Byrne hadn't changed much, he thought. He had the same light blond wispy hair, same grey eyes and young, aristocratic features. His wife was a chestnut brunette with a fabulous figure. Hawke's lips twisted. Byrne never did have problems getting female attention.

'So are you going to tell me or am I going to have to torture it out of you?' Caitlin's voice pulled him out of his memories.

He handed back the photo. 'Tell you what?'

She rolled her eyes. 'What happened in eighty-two?'

'Pretty much what he said.' Hawke returned, parroting the answer she'd given him a few minutes ago.

Caitlin folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

He sighed. 'Byrne was the original test engineer for Airwolf.'

Her blue eyes widened. 'The original…I don't understand.'

'When Michael put the project test flight team together in eighty-two, I was assigned as commander and chief test pilot but we had a full crew complement. Byrne was the engineer and a guy called Adam Fellows was counter-measure specialist and co-pilot.' Hawke explained his eyes fogged with memories. 'Adam was an Airforce captain. A good guy – helluva pilot.'

'And Byrne?' Caitlin asked noting he'd spoken about Fellows in the past tense.

'Young but he seemed solid. He wasn't a pilot but he was an aeronautical engineer and a computer genius, held his own with Moffett.' Hawke sighed remembering. 'We thought we were a tight team. Michael had hand-picked us all and we'd beaten out some really tough competition for our places.'

'Cocky, huh?' Caitlin said, mirroring him, leaning over Airwolf to hold his gaze.

He gave a half-smile. 'Maybe.'

'And then you discovered Byrne was selling information to the Russians?'

'We were all meeting up for a beer.' Hawke corrected, his eyes icing over. 'Adam got to Byrne's early, walked in on the meeting between Byrne and the KGB. By the time I got there he was on the floor, shot, barely conscious. Told me what had happened before he died.'

'So you went after Byrne.' Caitlin's eyes gleamed with understanding; trust was everything to Hawke.

'And he got away. Scrambled Airwolf's computers like an egg.' Hawke shook his head. 'I was barely able to land her he'd screwed her systems so badly.'

'You went after him in Airwolf? Wasn't she undergoing flight tests?' Caitlin's voice rose in amazement.

'Michael had a similar reaction.' Hawke muttered.

'What now?' Caitlin asked. 'You want to leave?'

Hawke's eyes flickered back to hers and warmed a little at the support he read there. He sighed. 'As much as I hate to admit it Michael wanted Byrne just as much as I did. If he's agreed to let Byrne return he must think these designs are the real deal.'

'So we take Byrne back with us.'

'We take him back.' Hawke agreed. 'We just don't trust him.'

Caitlin nodded. Her stomach rumbled.

Hawke's eyebrow quirked upwards in amusement. 'Hungry?'

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He tapped Airwolf's armour lightly and jerked his head at the cockpit. 'Come on. Let's grab something to eat and catch some sleep.'

They set up camp in the barn; organised food on the small camping stove before curling up under Airwolf's nose in sleeping bags and blankets. They'd switched off the main lights of the barn filling the space with large, dark shadows. Hawke was exhausted but sleep eluded him as he listened to the pattering rain. He opened his eyes and stared up at the darkness. There was something about this mission he was missing. He could sense it. He sighed and closed his eyes. He really needed to get some sleep. Caitlin shivered beside him and he felt her move to clutch the blankets closer.

'Cold?' He whispered.

'Yeah.' Caitlin replied. 'I can't get to sleep for shivering.'

'Here.' Hawke moved over and curled into her so her back rested against his front. Caitlin tensed feeling the weight of his arm across her side, his hand coming to lie over her tummy. Then she felt the warmth of his body start to transfer to her own. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' Hawke said.

'So, what's wrong?' She murmured sleepily.

Hawke smiled; she was getting to know him too well. 'It's probably nothing.'

'It usually isn't. What's bugging you?'

He shrugged a little awkwardly. 'I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right.' He sighed. 'Maybe it's just because it's Byrne.'

'You'll figure it out.' Caitlin's hand slid over his and patted it reassuringly.

Hawke couldn't resist intertwining their fingers. 'Let's get some sleep.'

She nodded. Their combined body heat and the sound of the rain lulled her to sleep almost immediately.

Hawke listened to her soft, even breathing and smiled as she unconsciously snuggled closer into his side. He closed his eyes and seconds later he was asleep.

It seemed like only a few moments later, he awoke. He shifted to look at his watch. It was almost three. The heavy pattering of rain still filled the barn. Hawke frowned and shook Caitlin awake.

She blinked past her tiredness. 'What time is it?'

'Almost three.' Hawke got to his feet and offered her hand. She took it, yawning. They quickly cleared up in the darkness and were ready when the sound of approaching footsteps caught Hawke's attention. He signalled for Caitlin to take a position on the other side of Airwolf, whilst he drew his gun and took up position behind the open door in front of him.

Carmichael entered and froze in the direct line of the gun. Hawke reholstered the weapon and the agent snapped on the main light.

'We have a problem.' Carmichael said without preamble. 'They haven't arrived and we can't raise them.'

Hawke scowled. 'You have their route?'

Carmichael nodded.

Hawke jerked his head at the helicopter. 'Get in.'

Caitlin started to bring the systems online as the two men climbed onboard and Hawke showed Carmichael how to put on the heavy Airwolf helmet. The rotors swept the dust from the concrete floor, sent papers flying from the tables as they picked up speed.

Hawke eased the helicopter forward and drove out into the rain. He frowned at the lack of visibility; he slapped his visor down and activated the night vision before he raised them off the ground, fast and easy. Carmichael grabbed at the console in front of him and swallowed hard.

'This is some machine.' He muttered.

'Yeah.' Hawke hovered above the farm. 'You'll need to give Caitlin a heading.'

'Of course.' Carmichael turned to the back of the cockpit where Caitlin sat illuminated by the various flashing lights on the engineer's console. He rattled off the directions.

'Course laid in, Hawke.' Caitlin confirmed.

Hawke checked his monitor and nodded, turning Airwolf in the right direction and streaming forward.

'Turbos.' Hawke ordered.

'Turbos.' Caitlin confirmed.

Airwolf shot forward.

Carmichael gripped his seat. 'This is incredible.'

'Cait, scans.' Hawke said.

'In progress.' Caitlin confirmed. 'Nothing yet.'

Hawke lowered their altitude and sent Airwolf skimming over the ground below.

'I have something.' Caitlin confirmed. 'Two vehicles, not moving. Ten miles out.' She frowned. 'It looks like a crash.'

'Reengage rotors.' Hawke ordered, returning to cloud cover. 'Is anything moving?'

Caitlin adjusted the systems and ran the scans simultaneously. 'I have six people on the ground. One injured, life signs are weak.'

'I'm going to land us close by.' Hawke said. 'Cait, you stay with the Lady.'

'You got it.'

The landing was difficult; the black asphalt slippery and wet from the rain was almost hidden by the tree cover. Hawke grabbed the anorak Caitlin handed him along with the first aid kit and ran after Carmichael who was already approaching the crash site.

'Sir,' a young agent ran to greet them, 'sorry, sir. We tried contacting you but the radio's bust.'

'What the hell happened here, Needle?' Carmichael ignored the raw gash on the agent's head.

'Road was wet. We came round the bend,' Agent Needle pointed up the road, 'car was coming straight at us on the wrong side. Nothing we could do. There are two civilians in the other car, both just have minor injuries. Agent Gordon sustained serious injury, I think he may need an ambulance.'

'Have you called one, Needle?'

'Phone isn't working either, sir. There's no signal this far in country.' Needle tried to wipe the rain off his face, streaking blood across his forehead.

'Great.' Carmichael muttered as they reached the group of survivors huddled under the shelter of the trees away from the wreckage of the vehicles.

Hawke ignored the other people to crouch down beside the prone injured agent. He shoved his hood back to get a better look. They'd done their best for him, keeping him as comfortable as they could but the man was deep in shock, shivering and his eyes were unfocused. A large purple bruise was forming on the right side of his face and as Hawke uncovered the blanket they had wrapped around him and opened up his shirt, the distended abdomen and mottling told its own story. The guy had internal bleeding, probably his spleen, probably his brain. The ambulance would never make it time. Hawke reached for the kit and drew out a syringe which he filled with morphine. Killing the pain was the only thing he could do for the guy.

He stood up and shook his head regretfully at Carmichael.

The NSA agent swore.

A blond girl who couldn't have been more than twenty, turned to the boy she was stood with and started weeping on his shoulder. Hawke turned his attention to the other couple; the Byrnes.

'Hello, Hawke.' James had a comforting arm around his wife but his eyes were calm and controlled as they met Hawke's glacial look head on.

'Byrne.' Hawke bit out the name.

'Archangel came through.' Byrne nodded, his grey eyes sliding to the black, deadly machine stood on the road.

Hawke's eyes flashed dangerously; one more thing to take up with Michael.

Carmichael cleared his throat and gestured at the young couple. 'You youngsters OK?'

They nodded. He turned back to Hawke and motioned for the pilot to follow him a couple of steps into the road. They stopped and Carmichael turned his back to the group. 'This is a mess.' He shook his head. 'Can you take Byrne and his wife now?'

Hawke nodded. 'We'll alert the emergency services of your location.'

Carmichael sighed his agreement. Hawke caught the movement behind the other man a split second before the shot rang out. Carmichael fell to the road, a blossoming red stain across his chest. Hawke dropped immediately to the floor using the other man's body as cover, his gun in his hand. Tanya Byrne stood with the pistol she'd fired steady in her hand and aimed directly at Hawke; the young couple were standing with similar pistols aimed at a shocked looking Byrne and the young NSA agent.

'Tanya?'

'Your gun, Mr Hawke.' Tanya said ignoring her husband. 'Throw it over to me slowly. Yours too, Agent Needle.'

Hawke considered Tanya and then the young couple for a long moment as Needle gave up his weapon without an argument. Cool, calm, controlled. Probably KGB. Byrne seemed shocked about her double-cross not that he believed that but…he still had an advantage; they didn't know Caitlin was in Airwolf.

'If I handover my weapon, I'm as good as dead.' Hawke shouted at her.

'I don't want you dead, Mr Hawke.' Tanya smiled at him through the drizzle. 'We want a pilot as well as the aircraft.' She took a step forward. 'However, I'm not averse to having you a little injured.'

Hawke did what the Russian woman wanted. He threw his gun over the asphalt to her, making sure it was in easy reach if he got the chance to dive to the floor and retrieve it.

She motioned at him to stand and he did so reluctantly.

'Hands behind your head, Mr Hawke.' She gestured at Airwolf. 'Constantine, check the aircraft for anyone else.'

Hawke ignored the sinking sensation in his stomach as the young man nodded and started to walk over. Tanya reached up to the large brooch on her coat and pressed it. 'I have activated a homing beacon. My comrades will be here shortly. If any of you try anything I will shoot you.'

'Why, Tanya?' Byrne asked. 'We planned this…you love me…'

'She played you to get Airwolf. The designs you stole are probably worthless.' Hawke deduced.

'Actually, no Mr Hawke.' Tanya trained the gun on him. 'But why have one Airwolf when we can have two?'

Constantine was cautiously entering the helicopter. He whirled back to his superior. 'There's no-one there.'

'You were alone?' Tanya asked.

Hawke nodded slowly; he honestly didn't have a clue where Caitlin was and it was the only advantage he had.

Tanya waved the gun at Hawke and pointed at the side of the road where the cars were still twisted together. 'Over there. You too, James, Needle,'

'I don't believe this.' Hawke heard Byrne mutter as he walked over to join him by the wreckage.

'On your knees.' Tanya instructed. Hawke went down unwillingly but considered it his best option to stay alive until Caitlin could form a rescue. He tamped down on his worry about her.

'Watch them, Ilyana.'

The blond woman aimed her gun at them.

'I don't believe it.' Byrne muttered again as Tanya walked away to examine Airwolf.

'Think of it as karmic justice.' Hawke returned under his breath. 'You betrayed Adam and killed him now your wife is going to do the same to you.'

Byrne flushed. 'I didn't kill Adam.'

'Yeah, right.'

'I didn't.' Byrne hissed. 'I didn't want him hurt but the KGB agent…' His grey eyes flickered to his wife, as if realising suddenly that's what she probably was. 'Adam tried to rush him and he was shot before I could do anything.'

'So you didn't pull the trigger.' Hawke glared at him. 'You really think that makes a difference.'

Byrne's eyes fell away from Hawke's. 'You always were so righteous, Hawke. Did it ever once occur to you that I might have a good reason for what I did?'

'No.' Hawke scanned the distance between where he was and his gun.

'I needed the money.'

'Yeah. Figured.' Hawke muttered assessing how likely it was that he would be shot if he made a grab for his gun.

'My mother was ill, dammit. I couldn't afford the bills for her treatment. I got offered the cash, I took it.'

'It doesn't justify selling classified information, Byrne.'

'What if you were offered information about your brother Hawke?' Byrne smiled grimly as Hawke's jerked back to him. 'Would you be so quick to turn it down?'

'I wouldn't betray my country or my team, no.' Hawke shot back. He refocused on the situation.

'So you're a better man than me but…'

'Byrne, shut the hell up.' Hawke growled. His head cocked. Helicopters. Probably the approaching Russians. Tanya moved a half a step closer to Constantine and they began an animated discussion. From their gestures, it appeared to Hawke they were awestruck by the aircraft. Ilyana's hand wavered unsteadily as she noticed the closeness of the other two. Go on, he urged her mentally, just lower the gun a little more.

The low moaning sound of the dying agent drifted out over the rain. Ilyana's head turned to the sound and he flung himself forward, without thinking, diving for his gun, taking advantage of her distraction. She got a shot off at him and he rolled, grabbing his own gun as the bullet impacted the ground where he'd just been.

Ilyana was fast though, whirling she lashed out with a leg and caught his arm. His precarious grip on his weapon was lost and the gun scuttled across the dirt. She swung the gun back round to him and…

The crack of the shot was loud in his ears.

Ilyana looked down at her chest, then at Hawke, her surprise evident. He ignored her and instead looked over at Carmichael who was lying on the road, soaked and bleeding but his gun was steady in his hands.

A shout across the road grabbed Hawke's attention; Caitlin had attacked from wherever she had hidden and was holding off both Tanya and Constantine with a series of martial arts moves. Needle was running to help her; Byrne was stood frozen in shock. Hawke scuttled across the tarmac and grabbed his gun. He whirled on his knee in time to see Needle throw himself at Constantine, the action sending the two men directly into Caitlin who was thrown against Airwolf giving Tanya the opportunity to draw her weapon. Hawke didn't hesitate; he shot Byrne's wife dead.

Caitlin didn't remain motionless but pulled Constantine off a beaten Needle and knocked him out with a double-fisted blow to his neck. She bent over to catch her breath, her hands on her thighs. The rain cascaded over her, plastering her hair against her head, soaking through her muddied uniform.

Hawke got to his feet and walked over. He kicked the gun away from Tanya's hand before crouching down and checking for a pulse. She was dead. He stood up and went over to Caitlin. He laid a hand on her shoulder. 'You OK?'

'I will be.' Caitlin said and peeled the wet strands of hair away from her face.

He cocked his head again. 'We don't have a lot of time.'

She gestured at the fallen NSA agents 'You check on Carmichael. I'll take him.'

Hawke ran over to Carmichael; the agent was struggling to his feet. Hawke slid an arm under his shoulder. 'Come on. We'll take you to a hospital.'

Carmichael shook his head. 'Get Byrne and get the hell out of here. I'm OK.' He gestured at Needle. 'Needle can watch my back.'

Hawke sighed and set Carmichael down by the side of the road as Needle ran over with Caitlin. The younger agent's face was badly bruised but he seemed otherwise undamaged.

'Go.' Carmichael insisted. 'You can still send the emergency services. Just go.'

Hawke knew they couldn't waste the time arguing. He gestured at Caitlin. 'Get in and deploy the weapons. Call the emergency services to get these guys.' His eyes drifted to Byrne who was kneeling by his dead wife, seemingly oblivious of the rain and approaching helicopters. 'I'll get Byrne.'

'Right.' She ran back to Airwolf.

Hawke shook Carmichael's hand. 'I owe you.'

Carmichael gave a weak smile. 'Yeah, you do. Now get moving.'

Hawke nodded and ran over to Byrne. He laid a hand on the other man's shoulder. 'Come on Byrne. We have to move.'

The rotors were whipping the rain around them. Byrne gave his wife a final look and nodded. They jogged to Airwolf and flung themselves in as light poured onto the asphalt from the two Russian helicopters above. Hawke adjusted the helmet and shoved the yoke forward. Airwolf zipped down the road before he grasped the cyclic raising her off the floor, taking off like a jet right under the noses of the Russians.

'Hawke, those choppers have been modified. I'm reading guns and sidewinders.' Caitlin informed him. 'They're giving chase. Directly behind us.'

As if to verify her comments, the distant patter of gunfire across her tail sounded in the cockpit.

'Turbos.'

'Turbos.' Caitlin confirmed and was pushed back in her seat at the resultant g-force. Hawke kept Airwolf moving forward just out of the range of the guns.

'Missile.' Caitlin registered. 'Deploying sunburst.'

There was a resultant explosion on the ground as the missile collided with the decoy and went up in a fireball. Hawke suddenly disabled the turbo power and Airwolf slowed dramatically, the ordinary choppers shot past them on either side. One of the pilots took advantage and fired his guns again. Hawke yanked the stick hard, sending them in a wide arc away from the shrapnel but a stray shot caught the tail rotor. He steadied Airwolf and called for the turbos and disengagement of the rotor system.

'Hawke, we have another missile coming at us.'

'Redeye.' Hawke muttered.

'Redeye.'

The missiles impacted in mid-air. Hawke saw the second chopper coming toward them, lining up for another shot and he triggered the chain guns. The Russian helicopter was cut to pieces, exploding into a fireball in front of them. He barely avoided a mid-air collision as Airwolf streaked forward leaving the remaining chopper behind. Caitlin raised their radar suppression and confirmed they were off the scope.

Airwolf shook badly. 'I can't hold her. We have to set her down.' Hawke said.

Caitlin punched in scans. 'There's an abandoned airfield directly ahead, ETA two minutes. No life-signs. Some abandoned buildings. We could hide out there.'

The helicopter trembled under them. 'Come on.' Hawke urged the machine under his breath. 'Nearly there.' The landing was shaky but they got down in one piece on the old desolated runway.

Caitlin let out the breath she was holding and ran a hand over her console. 'Good girl.' She whispered as she scanned the buildings in front of them. 'Hangar to your left, Hawke.'

Hawke drove Airwolf forward and into the wide space. It was littered with junk. He brought the injured helicopter to a halt and climbed out to inspect the damage to the tail rotor. He sighed. She'd sustained a similar injury in Mexico once. 'Damn.'

'She'll patch.' Caitlin noted as she came to stand by his elbow.

'Yeah.' He glanced at the old equipment. 'At least we should be able to find some tools in this place.'

'Let's hope they give us the time to do it.' She sighed.

Hawke rubbed his chin. 'Exactly where are we?'

'We got some distance before she gave out. We're still in North Maine.' Caitlin tried to shake off her exhaustion. 'I'm going to set up some scans, provide us with an early alarm system.'

'Let's maintain radio silence too. If we go deaf and dumb, we'll be as good as dead to them.' Hawke added.

'Dom's going to be frantic.' Caitlin noted.

'He'll understand.' Hawke said. His eyes ran over her bedraggled appearance and then ruefully at his own drenched uniform. 'We need to get out of these clothes before we get chilled.'

Caitlin pulled at the damp material and grimaced. 'I guess.' Her eyes flickered to Byrne who was stood looking out into the darkness. 'What about him?'

Hawke sighed and spun on his heel. He slipped into Airwolf and retrieved towels and three spare uniforms from a compartment in the back. He climbed back out and handed a dry uniform to Caitlin. 'You take Airwolf.'

Caitlin looked around at the sparse hangar; there was nowhere else to change and the aircraft was the only privacy she was going to get. She nodded and climbed back into the cockpit shutting the door behind her.

Hawke walked over to Byrne and thrust a uniform and a towel at him. 'Here.'

Byrne took the flight suit with a grimace but obediently followed Hawke's example and started to strip off. They didn't speak as they both towelled off and redressed. Byrne shoved his hands back through his hair to flatten the blond strands and looked down at the outfit with bemusement. 'When did they decide on the lilac?'

Hawke looked at his uniform. 'Beats me.'

'Word is you killed Moffett.' Byrne commented.

Hawke shrugged. 'We need to fix the tail rotor.'

'You really think we're going to get out of this?' Byrne asked. 'You know it's not going to take them long to track us.'

Hawke shot him a look.

Byrne held his hands up. 'What do you need me to do?'

Hawke nodded at the stack of equipment at the back of the hangar. 'Do an inventory check. Pull out anything we can use.'

Byrne glanced at Airwolf. 'I'm still a computer expert. I could help set up some scans.'

'Caitlin has it under control.' Hawke said.

'Yeah, I guess she probably does.'

The admiring tone had Hawke's eyes flickering to Byrne. The younger man shrugged. 'I was watching her work on my monitor. You probably don't realise but she anticipated your every move.' He shrugged. 'I never did that but there again, you never looked at me the way you do at her.'

Hawke pointed at the equipment. 'Get started.'

Byrne dashed off a mock salute and jogged over to the back of the hangar. Hawke watched him go with a sigh before gathering the discarded clothing and towels. He headed back to Airwolf. He was about to open the door when he remembered Caitlin was using the machine to change. He gave a brief knock. She opened the door.

'Are you all set?' Hawke asked.

'I just have a couple more scans to set up.' Caitlin admitted.

'Can you start a fire when you're done?'

She nodded.

Hawke handed her the bundle of clothing and headed back to help Byrne. They quickly had a stack of usable equipment in one pile. They set to work on the rotor even as Caitlin got a fire burning in an old oil drum. They'd been working for over an hour when Hawke called a halt and they all took a break around the flames to keep warm.

Hawke warmed his hands on the metal mug he held and took a sip of the coffee. He was sat close to Caitlin on an overturned crate with Byrne sat across from them on the floor. Hawke considered the younger man's serious face; Byrne had just rolled his sleeves up and got on with the jobs he'd been given. Hawke felt a pang of regret remembering another time when the young man had fitted into another team just as seamlessly. A good reminder, he thought, to be cautious of Byrne even if he had explained why he'd betrayed them in eighty-two.

Hawke stood up. 'We should get back to it.'

'How long do you think before they find us?' Byrne asked getting to his feet.

'We won't have much more time.' Hawke admitted. 'We didn't get that much distance from them.'

'I'll recheck the scans.' Caitlin said.

'I could give you a hand.' Byrne offered.

'You'll help me with the rotor.' Hawke corrected him.

Byrne sighed and followed the pilot to the workbench they had constructed. 'You didn't need to do that.'

Hawke didn't look up from the rotor he was hammering back into shape.

'In case you missed it, you shot my wife earlier this morning. I'm hardly likely to go chasing after your girlfriend.'

Hawke glanced up at him sharply. He pushed away the twinge of guilt at the evident and sincere heartbreak in Byrne's grey eyes and his mixed emotions at Byrne's assumption of his relationship with Caitlin. He returned his attention to the rotor.

'So how long have the two of you…you know?' Byrne said.

'Byrne.' Hawke snapped.

'OK, OK.' Byrne held up his hands in surrender. 'I was just making conversation.' He dropped his hands as Hawke pounded on the metal rotor. 'You never were chatty.'

'We don't have anything to talk about.' Hawke commented.

'No reminiscing over old times?' Byrne taunted.

Hawke shot him another look.

Byrne sighed. 'Michael didn't tell you, did he? That it was me you were picking up?'

Hawke ignored him.

'You wouldn't have come otherwise, would you?' Byrne added.

'And that surprises you?' Hawke asked exasperated.

'I made a mistake, Hawke. A bad one.' Byrne admitted. 'But I've paid for it.'

'You're walking out of this a free man, Byrne.' Hawke pointed out. 'Adam didn't.'

'You think I don't think about that every day?' Byrne retorted. 'Adam was my friend too.'

'Yeah.' Hawke smashed the hammer into the rotor.

'Dammit, Hawke. It was only supposed to a one-off transaction. The stuff I was giving them was worthless.' Byrne gestured with a wrench. 'Adam…I'm sorry about Adam. It happened before I could do anything to stop it.'

Hawke paused in swinging the hammer and he lowered it slowly; Byrne sounded sincerely regretful. 'Why'd you run?'

Byrne looked at him surprised. He shrugged. 'I panicked, I guess.' He sighed. 'You know the crazy thing? Because I ran, I didn't get to see my mother before she died.'

Hawke kept silent.

'I know Michael made sure she was taken care of even after what happened.' Byrne said.

'You never had to go the KGB. He would have helped you if you'd gone to him,' Hawke said, 'hell, if you'd come to Adam or me, we would have helped you.'

'I know.' Byrne admitted quietly.

Hawke returned to the work on the rotor. 'So what's the deal you made with Michael?'

Byrne hesitated. 'I hand over the designs and Tanya and I…well, I guess it's just me now.' He sighed. 'I get a new life, a new start.'

'That's what I figured.' Hawke muttered.

'I suppose you want me to rot in a jail somewhere for the rest of my life?' Byrne said angrily.

'Now that you mention it…' Hawke said.

'I was twenty-four, Hawke. I was young and I was stupid…' Byrne began.

'What is it you want from me, Byrne?' Hawke whirled on him, the hammer tight in his grip. 'What? You want my forgiveness, is that it?'

Byrne looked back into Hawke's angry blue stare. 'I guess maybe I do.'

'Well we can't always get what we want.' Hawke turned back to the rotor.

Byrne sighed and the two men returned to work. It was another long hour before the rotor was fixed and Hawke called another halt. They were all exhausted and Hawke knew they needed a rest before they made a run for it. Caitlin had put together a stew from the rations they carried and they all resumed their places huddled around the fire.

Byrne set his metal dish down and staggered to his feet. 'I need some air. I'm going for a walk.'

'You need to stay inside.' Hawke contradicted him. 'It's getting light. They spot you out walking and you'll bring it all down on our heads.'

'So I'll make sure they don't spot me.' Byrne said continuing to walk away.

Hawke reached for his gun, aimed it and took off the safety. The audible click stopped Byrne in his tracks.

The other man turned around and rolled his eyes. 'Jeez Hawke, give me a break.'

Hawke responded with a glacial stare.

Byrne walked back to the fire and sat down with a scowl.

Hawke put the safety back on and holstered his gun. Caitlin hid her smile in her coffee mug.

'So this is great.' Byrne said, gesturing. 'What shall we talk about? Oh I know,' his eyes flickered to Caitlin, 'so when did you two start sleeping together?'

'How about you shut up?' Hawke glared at him as Caitlin choked on her drink.

Byrne got to his feet. 'I'm going over there.' He pointed to the back of the hangar. 'That OK with you?'

'Fine by me.' Hawke bit out.

Byrne stalked over and sat down on the floor, his back to Airwolf and her crew.

Caitlin shivered and Hawke turned to her concerned. 'Cold?' He murmured softly, keeping his voice low so Byrne wouldn't overhear them.

'Yeah.' Caitlin replied. 'I can't seem to stop shivering.'

'You got soaked.' Hawke admonished her. 'Here.' He slid an arm around her.

Caitlin inched closer and murmured a thank you. She wouldn't admit it to Hawke but she was starting to feel pretty lousy.

'I'm sorry.' Hawke said suddenly.

'What for?' Caitlin asked. 'It's not your fault it was raining.' She smiled. 'Even you can't you control the weather.'

'I meant I was sorry about Byrne.' Hawke said. 'He's gotten the wrong idea about us.'

Caitlin shrugged. 'It's not a big deal.' She mumbled taking a gulp of her coffee to avoid looking at him.

'Can I ask you a question?' Hawke asked.

'Sure.'

'When they checked Airwolf, where were you?'

'Under the console.' Caitlin told him. 'The guy only poked his head in. I was able to wait until you made your move.'

'How did you know I'd make a move?' Hawke asked.

Caitlin arched an eyebrow. 'Please. Like you'd be able to help yourself.'

Hawke gave a short laugh. 'You're getting to know me too well.' He paused. 'Byrne noticed you anticipated all my orders.'

Caitlin shrugged again. 'He hasn't seen you with Dom.' She looked over at where Byrne was sat, his back ramrod straight, his head bowed. She glanced back at Hawke. 'He must be having a tough time. His wife betrays him and then…'

'And then I shoot her dead.' Hawke said harshly.

'You saved my life.' She said gently.

'We make a good team that way.' Hawke said.

She warmed under his intent regard and looked away toward the fire. Hawke watched the play of the firelight over her pale face. They did make a good team but for how much longer? She was going to leave unless…would it make a difference if he asked her to stay? He looked into the depths of his mug. Did he have any right to ask her? He frowned. Was he really prepared to see her walk away from him? He had so few people in life, was he really prepared to lose someone else?

He rubbed her arm. 'Cait?'

'Yeah?'

'You know what you said the other night? About leaving?' He felt her tense.

'Hmmm?'

'I want to say...' he searched for the right words, 'I…well, I'd miss you.'

She shifted to face him. 'You would?'

'I would.' Hawke's eyes scanned her face with its freckles and the wide honest eyes that had captured his attention the first time they'd met. 'I don't want you to leave.' He admitted.

Caitlin's fingers clenched around the mug and she resolutely tried to ignore the burgeoning hope making it difficult for her to breath. 'Really?'

'Really.' Hawke murmured, his blue eyes meeting hers. 'Cait, I…'

A loud bang at the back of the building had them both turning around sharply, drawing weapons. An open door was swinging wildly in the wind, slamming against the back wall. Byrne was missing.

'Dammit. I'm going to shoot him.' Hawke growled, partly in frustration at the interruption. 'Stay here.' He ran out after the recalcitrant man.

Caitlin holstered her gun and inched closer to the fire, warming her hands. He didn't want her to leave. She shouldn't make too much of it, she thought even though her lips curved. She sneezed and gave a hitching cough.

A beep from Airwolf's cockpit caught her attention and she moved to see what Airwolf had picked up. She brought up the information and her eyes widened in alarm. They were being surrounded. She checked the distances and ran a scan. Hawke had almost caught up with Byrne but both of them were out in the open with no cover. There was no time; they'd be shot down before she could get Airwolf airborne. She was already securing Airwolf as she made her conclusions. She ran for the back door of the hangar, reaching for her gun.

Hawke eased from the jog to a walk as he spotted Byrne standing looking out into the twilight. The younger man looked upset. Hawke sighed. He guessed it had been a blow for Byrne to discover that Tanya had been prepared to kill him, had used him to get her hands on Airwolf, and he was obviously upset about her death. Hawke felt his compassion stir; he stopped next to Byrne and holstered his gun.

'Look, Hawke, you have no idea what I'm going through right now…' Byrne began before Hawke could speak.

'Byrne,' Hawke tried to interrupt him.

'…but I'm trying to make sense of everything and…'

'Byrne,' Hawke tried again and then he heard something…

'…I just need some space…'

'Shut up.' Hawke hissed grabbing the other man's arm.

Byrne saw the fixed searching look on Hawke's face and obliged him.

Hawke peered into the bushes in front of them…movement…he saw the flash of the gun…and felt a blow as something hit him from the side, slamming him first into Byrne and then to the ground, out of the path of the bullet. It took him less than a moment to realise it was Caitlin.

'Cait.' Hawke whispered and shifted when she didn't respond, crawling to where she'd rolled when they'd hit the ground. 'Caitlin.' He called again in a stage whisper. His heart seized. She wasn't moving at all.