'She isn't dead.' Hawke insisted.

He tried not to be disheartened by the looks of complete disbelief on Michael and Dom's faces. He had hustled the two men into Patrick's study as soon as it had been humanly possible. There was a milling crowd just beyond the door still saying goodbye to Caitlin with finger food and alcohol.

'What you're suggesting Hawke….it's just not possible.' Michael leaned back in the leather chair and wondered apprehensively if Hawke was having some kind of breakdown. From the worry gathering in Dom's eyes, it was a thought the two of them shared.

'I know I'm right. The whole thing was all about misdirection. Horn wanted Caitlin. She has to be alive.' Hawke jabbed his finger on the arm of his chair.

'Why would Horn want Caitlin?' Michael reasoned. 'He can't know for certain she can fly Airwolf and why would he take her and not the machine?'

'I don't know.' Hawke was forced to admit. He shoved himself out of his chair and walked to the window, pushing his hands into the pockets of his trousers. 'It's not important. The important thing is that he has her.'

'Hawke, I don't see how she could have survived.' Michael swivelled in his chair, his voice thoughtful.

'Easy.' Hawke answered, hoping his theory was right. 'Horn knew that as long as Caitlin was missing we would look for her, right?'

'Right.' Dom was pleased he could at least back him up on one point and he felt a twinge of guilt as Hawke sent his old friend and surrogate father a quick smile of thanks.

'So he had to get us to believe something that would stop us looking.'

'So you think he staged the crash to make us believe she was dead and we would stop looking.' Dom summarised.

'Yes.' Hawke paced forward eagerly. 'We were expecting him to ask for Airwolf in trade so he gave us what we expected but there were things that didn't make sense.'

'Like?' Michael asked interested despite himself.

'Horn could have shot us and taken Airwolf when we were all stood exposed in the Hollow but he didn't. He provided us with a helicopter ostensibly for us to leave in but why would he let the only people who can fly Airwolf leave? If nothing else he would have been leaving himself open to a future rescue attempt.' Hawke saw his points were registering with the other two men and pressed on. 'It was an explosion on his side that started that shoot out – as though it were planned. Dom and I didn't even get grazed by a bullet even though we were completely exposed in the middle of the clearing. Horn's men had to better shots than that. We were left alive because we had to witness the crash.'

'You were almost killed though, String. One of his men did tackle you.' Dom objected.

'He tackled me to give the chopper time to get away.' Hawke gestured. 'When he made to shoot me the second time, he was ensuring your focus was on rescuing me not on the chopper. It gave them time to make the switch.'

'How?' Dom's face creased in puzzlement.

'I think they landed the chopper with Cait out of sight almost as soon as they disappeared from our immediate line of vision. When we came after them in Airwolf we checked for an airborne chopper. That's the one we followed. All Horn had to do was make sure its make and markings were exactly like the one in the clearing and when it crashed we would assume it was the same chopper.'

'But the body…' Michael said frowning.

Hawke shook his head. 'All he had to do was substitute a female the same height and build, same general characteristics, wearing the same distinctive blue flight suit and he was fairly safe in assuming we would think it was Caitlin.'

Michael and Dom still seemed unconvinced.

Hawke sighed in frustration. 'Think about it. We see Caitlin in a blue suit bundled unconscious into a chopper. We see the chopper take off. There are a few moments of delay before we can follow. We immediately look for an airborne chopper. We see one. It looks the same as the one we've just seen take off so we assume it's the same chopper. It crashes and we find a body similar in height, build and characteristics dressed in the same blue suit as Caitlin. We automatically put two and two together...'

'And get five,' completed Dom. There was a spark of hope in his tone and Hawke breathed easier. If Dom could believe it…..

'Which is what you could be doing now.' Michael said.

'Answer me this, Michael.' Hawke cleared his throat. 'Did we ever formally identify Cait's body?'

Michael hesitated before he replied in an apologetic voice. 'It was too badly burned for formal id.'

'What about dental records?' Hawke pushed away the image of a scrap of blue material and a fierce explosion that had flooded in his mind. It hadn't been Caitlin; he had to hold on to that.

Michael's hesitation was longer and Hawke held his breath as he waited for the other man to speak. When he did, the tone had changed; it too held a tiny hint of hopefulness. 'We didn't do a dental record match. We thought we knew who the body was.'

Hawke breathed out in relief. 'We need to….'

'Check the dental records.' Michael picked up his phone, dialled a number and gave his instructions to an aide. He put the phone down. 'Look, Hawke, I admit your theory is plausible but it isn't probable.'

'I know I'm right Michael.' Hawke felt a strange calm settle over him. He got to his feet. 'When will you have the results?'

Michael shrugged. 'It could take a couple of days.' His eyes flickered to the study door. 'I would suggest we don't tell the O'Shaunessy's until we have something concrete to tell them.'

Hawke nodded.

'What now?' Dom asked.

Hawke turned to him, his blue eyes cold and hard with determination. 'Now we go look for Caitlin.'