Michael was bored. He was standing in an anteroom of the Senate chambers waiting for the Oversight Committee on Intelligence to reconvene and desperately trying to look interested in the dour agent from the CIA who was droning away about something to do with national security. Michael nodded politely and took another sip of coffee from the china cup he held as he scanned the room desperately searching for some excuse to leave. His one good eye affixed on the attractive blond making her way towards him. Her all-white outfit gave away her affiliation with him and Michael was vaguely and amusingly aware that the agent with him stuttered to a halt as she approached.

'Sir, there's a call for you.' Her honeyed tones echoed with the same slow Southern drawl that had once coated Michael's words.

Michael brushed his moustache and handed her the cup and saucer as she handed him a rosewood cane topped with a silver handle. He excused himself from the other man and followed his aide to a small boardroom further down the corridor.

'Thank you for the rescue, Amy.'

Amy smiled regretfully. 'There really is a call for you, sir.' She gestured at the phone. 'It's Mr Santini.'

Michael frowned and took the receiver as he dismissed her. 'Dominic?'

'String asked me to call you.' Dom said shortly.

Michael almost smiled at the grumpy tone; he guessed the older man wasn't happy with the assignment. 'Hello to you too, Dominic.'

'This isn't a social call, Michael.' Dom snapped. 'I'm just calling to let you know String made contact with that guy Rimmington.'

'Did it go well?'

'He's put String on notice for a job.'

'The weapons?'

'String seems to think so.' Dom sighed heavily. 'He thinks he's going to have to wait for the job before he'll be able to find out where the weapons are. Rimmington has someone tailing him.'

Michael felt a sharp bite of worry blossom in his chest and frowned. 'Is he OK?'

'For the time being.' Dom's own concern coated every word. 'String thinks Rimmington's just testing him before the job. He thinks the guy's gotten a lot more paranoid about things since his time inside.'

'He's probably right.' Michael said taking a seat. 'Rimmington had to know it was someone in his own organisation that gave him up the last time.' He stroked his moustache. 'Does Hawke have a plan?'

'He thinks Rimmington will lead him to the weapons with this job.' Dom said. 'I'm heading back to LA to pick up Caitlin. String thinks he'll need us backing him when it goes down.'

Some of the anxiety clawing at Michael's gut eased. 'OK. Thanks for the update, Dominic. Keep me informed.'

'Did it even occur to you that they're getting married in two weeks and didn't need this?' Dom blurted out angrily before Michael put the phone down.

'This is a tactical situation, Dominic. You know what that means.' Michael returned forcefully.

'And you know that he's not doing this because it's a tactical situation.' Dom shot back.

There was a brief silence.

'I'll be in touch.' Dom said finally and the connection went dead. Michael was tempted to slam the receiver back down but instead dropped it back into its usual position with careful precision. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. His relationship with Dominic Santini had started out as one of mutual dislike and had slowly turned into one of mutual respect but they still had a tendency to talk at cross purposes at times. He had known the older man would question Michael's decision given the circumstances.

Had he made the right decision? Hawke hadn't been an operative for a long time; Rimmington would be suspicious of the timing of Hawke's return; Hawke was now a personal friend who was about to get married…Michael sighed. It was the latter reason that had caused Michael to second-guess his decision before he'd even called Hawke.

Michael stroked his moustache thoughtfully. He'd had to set friendship aside time after time in his position; he'd never found it as difficult to do as he had this time. The director of the FIRM had told Michael he was getting too close to Hawke and Michael was beginning to agree that his friendship with the pilot was coming close to compromising his ability to do his job; for a moment when he'd been talking to Dom, he'd been tempted to pull the mission. He lurched back to his feet and paced to the window gazing out on the political landscape of Washington sightlessly. It didn't help to know that if he and Hawke hadn't evolved such a close friendship that Hawke probably would never have taken the job. It was clear that the pilot had gone back under cover, was risking his life to get the weapons, only as a personal favour to him. Michael sighed.

His own personal feelings and why Hawke was doing the mission aside, Hawke was still the best man to get a lead on the weapons. He knew Rimmington; his cover might be rusty but it was solid, and ultimately, Michael had known Hawke was going to be backed up by his team in the most powerful helicopter in the world. It was the right decision. He turned at a knock on the door.

Amy slid into the room. 'The Committee are reconvening. They've asked for you and Zeus.'

Michael nodded. The hearings had been going on for over a month since the Senate Oversight Committee had declared it was looking to amalgamate some of the agencies and save operating costs. Logically it made sense, Michael thought as he followed Amy from the room and down the hall. In fact, in principle he wasn't against the idea; there were too many agencies running around trying to do the same job and costing the taxpayer billions of dollars. There would be a public outcry if it was ever discovered exactly how many, mused Michael, especially given that they were all meant to operate under the CIA's mandate and not as independent bodies at all. In principle he wasn't against the idea but in practice he was biased; he believed the FIRM was a vital part of the intelligence framework and he didn't want to see the agency disappear into a larger, more corporate entity. He entered the Senate Committee room and headed for a seat next to Zeus, the director of the FIRM, at the table in front of the Senatorial semi-circle of committee members. He acknowledged the representatives of the other agencies also sat at the table as he sat down.

In his opinion, Michael thought, it was difficult to see how the endless justifications of each agency's financial accounts, which were being examined in excruciating detail, would help make the Senate Committee make a decision on which would offer the best intelligence to assist in national security. He knew it was opinion that the rest of the agents forced to attend these sessions shared.

Zeus looked up briefly from the papers he was examining and acknowledged his deputy director with a sharp nod. He quietly leaned over to speak to Michael. 'They're going to ask about the Airwolf project.'

Michael stiffened imperceptibly. They'd been expecting it but still…he straightened his glasses and leaned back in his chair, the very appearance of relaxed confidence. His determined eye met Zeus'. 'I'm ready.'