The moments following Michael's admission of building a third helicopter were total chaos. The gavel had been banged almost incessantly and the calls for order ignored as the Senate Committee members and the representatives for the agencies yelled questions and demanded answers without any regard to the formal proceedings. Eventually, faced with stony silence from Zeus and Archangel, the noise quietened and Mickelson regained control of the hearing. He immediately called a recess.

Michael made his way swiftly out of the hearing chamber and came to a surprised halt at the sight of Amy waiting for him.

'News?' He asked.

She nodded and he followed her into the small boardroom they had used earlier. His anxiety escalated as they walked the short distance in silence. Had Hawke made it out OK? He frowned. He should be thinking about the weapons.

'Report.' He said crisply once the door was closed behind them. His worry was evident in the tense lines of his face, the way he held his breath.

'Hawke called sir. They radioed in a short time ago with the coordinates of the weapons and Rimmington. Ling confirmed the mission was a success. The weapons are in our custody and we have arrested Rimmington.' Amy started to dial the Airwolf number. 'Airwolf also shot down two helicopters Rimmington had already modified with the prototypes and saved two NSA agents.' She handed him the receiver.

Michael took it with a pleased smile. 'Hawke?'

'Michael.' Hawke's acknowledgement was shaded with tiredness and irritation. It warmed Michael's heart.

'Congratulations.'

'Thank you.' Hawke returned grumpily. 'If that's all…'

'No. I wanted to thank you, Hawke, all of you.' Michael interrupted him.

'Excuse me?' Dom's gruff tone was filled with surprised laughter. 'Did I hear you just thank us? Is this my birthday?'

'Funny, Dominic.' Michael rejoined without heat. 'I know this was beyond the call of duty.' He could imagine the amused looks being exchanged amongst the Airwolf crew and cleared his throat. 'Have a safe trip back.'

'Whoa, wait a minute.' Caitlin's words arrested his movement to hang up. 'Are you coming to the wedding? I really need to know for the numbers.'

'I'll be there.' Michael smiled. 'I wouldn't miss it.' His smile widened. 'Angelina's looking forward to being a flower girl.'

'We're looking forward to seeing her again.' Caitlin said.

Michael made his goodbyes and hung up. He tapped his cane thoughtfully on the ground. Hawke had gone beyond the call of duty for him and what was Michael doing whilst he did? Michael scowled. He was defending his decision to build a third Airwolf, a machine that would ultimately remove the FIRM's dependency on Hawke and the original helicopter; a machine that would ultimately mean the FIRM could stop looking for Saint John Hawke. His gut clenched. It had never been his intention to stop looking for Hawke's brother…the FIRM's maybe…but would the pilot – would his friend ever believe that?

Keeping the build of the third Airwolf secret from Hawke had never sat well with him. With each passing month, with every new instance that Hawke had come through for him, he'd questioned his decision to maintain the secrecy. When Hawke had rescued his daughter and had saved him in Russia, he'd been close to telling the pilot the truth but the moment had passed. Now that the project was out in the open inasmuch as it had been discussed at the Senate Committee hearing, maybe it was a sign for him to come clean…it was something he needed to seriously consider, Michael thought as he made his way back to the antechamber.

Robert Delaney was the first to reach him. He handed him a cup and saucer. 'I figured you'd need this.'

'Thank you, Robert.'

'I heard the FIRM just found the missing armour piercing weapons and arrested Rimmington.' Delaney said in a loud voice bringing the other agency representatives conversation to a halt. 'Congratulations.'

'Thank you.' Michael's eye twinkled. Delaney knew the NSA's position was secure but he wasn't above stirring the pot for the other agencies. The recovery of the armour piercing weapons was a big success for the FIRM. Michael looked over at the clerk who was gesticulating wildly at them. 'I think we're due back in.'

They obediently made their way back into the Committee room. The Senate members were already gathered around their semi-circle. Mickelson called for order as the intelligence representatives took their places. When the noise had abated and silence fell, he glared at the two representatives from the FIRM from his position in the smartest chair in the middle of the semi-circle.

'Before the recess you confirmed that you are building another Airwolf. Is that right?' Mickelson asked incredulous. He had expected the usual evasion and half-truth; he had expected that Gilligan would have entrapped them; that the FIRM had come clean immediately was astounding to him.

'Haven't you learned your lesson from the other two?' Gilligan snapped unable to contain himself.

Mickelson gave him a sharp look before he turned back to Archangel and Zeus. 'It's a fair question. What makes you think a third attempt to build the aircraft will end anymore successfully than the first two?'

Michael cleared his throat. 'If I can provide a more comprehensive answer perhaps to why we decided to progress with building another helicopter?'

Mickelson nodded and gestured impatiently for Michael to continue.

Michael took a sip of water and leaned forward across the table earnestly. 'After the incident with Airwolf II, it became clear that the original Airwolf would be quickly overtaken by new technology, new armaments and would eventually be outclassed, probably sooner rather than later.' He smoothed his tie and gathered his thoughts. 'There were two possible solutions; one was to completely upgrade the original machine and to continue to upgrade her as technology became available and could be adapted to her systems. The second was to design a completely new aircraft that would become the next generation of her class.' He paused. 'In the end we decided to do both.'

'So this third machine is not a copy?' Gilligan clarified.

'Exactly.' Michael said enthusiastically. 'The third Airwolf will be a significant leap forward in terms of technology and design. The spirit of her design is very much in keeping with Airwolf but she will be a new machine.'

'My question still stands; how can you possibly expect to keep control of this aircraft after the events surrounding the other two?' Gilligan growled into his microphone.

'Because we have learned from the mistakes of the past.' Michael said forcefully. 'All the staff we have working on the project are given detailed background checks. Further we run psychological profiles on each individual from the senior manager right down to the cleaning staff. Additionally we have a sophisticated security system. At the present time no individual apart from a selected few have sight of the whole design and no individual has access to all information.'

Some of the Committee members exchanged looks. Gilligan gestured. 'And what happens when you have to test the machine? A pilot will be required, presumably?'

'Yes.' Michael admitted. 'When we get to the testing stage the choice of pilot will be critically important.'

'And how are you going to make sure that the pilot doesn't steal the aircraft this time?'

'Firstly, there will trackers and a remote destruct mechanism inbuilt into the machine. The pilot will be unaware of the codes to disarm either.' Michael stroked his moustache. 'Secondly, the flight team will go through an extensive selection process and the commander of the team will be someone who has a proven track record with prototypes.' Michael paused. He ignored Zeus' frantic signals for him to be quiet before he quietly admitted. 'My preference would be to use Stringfellow Hawke.'

The room erupted.

'Quiet!' Mickelson yelled and slammed the hammer down again and again. 'Let me get this straight.' He pointed the hammer at Michael. 'You want to entrust a new helicopter to the same man who is currently holding the original hostage?'

'I believe we covered why Hawke still has the original helicopter earlier,' Michael answered mildly, 'and in my mind by the time we're ready to test the new machine that situation should be resolved. Further I don't know of any other man best suited to the job.'

Delaney gestured to be recognised and a speechless Mickelson recognised him.

'I agree with Archangel. Captain Hawke is the best and most qualified person to fly a machine of this nature.'

'Well thank you for your opinion…' Mickelson began.

'If you'll let me finish, Senator.' Delaney said strongly. 'My opinion is offered not just as someone who has worked with Captain Hawke but also as a member of the taskforce that was put together last year to recover Airwolf.'

Mickelson's gaze snapped to him. 'You were part of the taskforce?'

'I was.' Delaney confirmed. 'Hawke is undoubtedly the best person to test pilot another Airwolf. He had extensive experience and he is probably the best damn pilot we have in the United States. Both the Airforce and Army struggled to find a pilot who could keep up with him.' He glanced over at Michael. 'If you need any further evidence of the man's patriotism, in the last twenty-four hours, Hawke has risked his life to return to an undercover assignment in order to secure the recovery of a new prototype armour piercing rocket.' His eyes gleamed with satisfaction. 'He concluded his mission successfully this evening leading to the return of the weapons and to the arrest of the arms dealer.'

'Captain Hawke's integrity is not in question here.' Gilligan snapped.

'You'll excuse me, Senator.' Delaney said smoothly. 'But I would respectfully disagree.'

'Regardless of the choice of pilot,' Mickelson said, 'the issue still remains whether the money spent on a new Airwolf is a good investment or not.'

The director of the Company, an intelligence agency with a number of similarities to the FIRM, motioned to be recognised. 'Senator, no intelligence agency in this room would refuse the opportunity to control an aircraft with the abilities of Airwolf. Her surveillance capability alone is worth the investment and that's before her offensive and defensive advantages are even considered.' His eyes slid to Zeus and Michael. 'Do I question whether the FIRM has the ability to prevent another theft? Yes. Do I question whether the choice of pilot is sound despite Agent Delaney's resounding character reference? Yes. But do I question whether Airwolf is worth the investment? No.' He gestured at his colleagues. 'And anyone who says any different in this room would be lying.'

Zeus and Michael exchanged a look. The Company had a very similar background to the FIRM. It had been established before the Civil War and had survived the formation of the CIA to continue to act independently. It has a tighter directive than the FIRM and it restricted its activities to pure intelligence work. The FIRM agents often crossed swords with the Company out in the field, especially in Eastern Europe which was the Company's major focus. The support from the Company's director was a little startling.

Mickelson cleared his throat. 'Perhaps we can continue with the financial investigation. Senator Gilligan?'

Michael gave an inward sigh of relief and dragged his attention back to the proceedings as Gilligan questioned the expenditure on Airwolf's maintenance. A few more questions and the Committee moved on. Their examination of the Airwolf project was over.