Chapter 25

Ralph Hinkley had returned to school. It had been a day since his encounter with Sam and Airwolf's crew. Bill had given him the back story on Airwolf over the weekend and found Saint John Hawke was listed as MIA in military records.

The coin collection still baffled both men as Bill suspected the coins were minted by the US Mint and thus not a private mint as that avenue of origin was eliminated.

Bill walked into the classroom early that morning to see Ralph before the class would start. He stated, "There is no way those coins are from a private mint. I ran down every private mint in the country. No one made those coins and mint has not gotten out of design stage yet."

"How do these coins connect to Airwolf?" Ralph wondered.

Bill replied, "That's the question. The names hand written on the back of that book was Stringfellow Hawke and Saint John Hawke. The signatures are different. That means that Saint John Hawke, Stringfellow Hawke's brother who has been MIA since 1970, somehow sign a coin collecting book dated for the years 1999 to 2009."

"How does that even happen?" Ralph pondered.

"I don't know. Time travel?" he guessed. "It's not that hard to believe. Maybe our little buddies who gave you the red suit has something to do with it." He continued, "I got nothing on Sam. Nothing under Samantha Santini or Samantha Hawke. I ran the surname Hawke because she said it was her dad's coin book."

Ralph figured, "If that coin collection belongs to her father and the names hand written on the back of the book are the owners than either String or his brother is her father. Which one?" He pondered to himself. "String is working here as a substitute teacher."

Bill asked, "Stringfellow Hawke is working here as a sub?" He then figured, "The FIRM must have sent him in."

"Why?" he wondered.

"Well," Bill theorized, "Either the FIRM has something to do with the coins and possible time travel or they are after the suit."

He questioned, "You think they after the suit?"

"Could be." he concluded. "We don't know who Sam is really is? She's obviously not a 16 year old kid. She was flying the bird."

"She told the other kids in class that she was a licensed pilot and that her father owns the airfield." he reported. "They were talking about it the other day. They want Sam to give them airplane rides." he rubbed his face confused, "If she is a licenses pilot then she wouldn't need this class. She got placed here on purpose." His face contorted, "She must be a spy." he feared.

As Ralph spoke Tony walked into the class a bit early. He heard the accusation. "Who is a spy? Hey, Mr. Maxwell." he greeted the FBI agent. "You said Sam is a spy." he accused.

Ralph and Bill both stood like a deer in the headlights for a moment as Tony was never early to class.

"You are here early." Ralph told him.

Tony smiled, "I thought I would see Sam about them coins before class. I wonder if I can get a set from the private mint her dad got them from." He asked, "Is Sam a spy?"

Ralph assured, "I doubt that she is a spy."

"Cool! I'm thinking she has a time machine." he confessed.

"Because of the coins?" he asked him.

He nodded and then he dug into his pocket and retrieved another quarter. "I found another one. I've been watching my change real close now. This one says 'San Antonio Missions - 2019'."

"Can I see that?" Ralph requested.

Tony handed him the coin. "It's different. It's dated 2019!" he added. "Looks like the one in the book but kind of scratched up a bit more."

Ralph handed the coin to Bill who took a closer look.

Bill observed, "This coin had been in circulation. Like that New Hampshire coin. The coins in the book. Did they looked scratched like this?"

Ralph admitted, "Those looked brand new."

"Hmm…" Bill pondered.

"What?" he pressed.

"Why put a scratched up coin in a coin collection that is otherwise perfectly new?" he pondered.

Ralph assumed, "I figured the one was scratched because she spent and it got circulated and ended up with Tony. But she had the rest of the coins in the book. Where did this one come from?"

Tony figured, "The future! I tell ya, Sam has a time machine."

Ralph countered, "Let's think about this, Tony. Let's say Sam does have a time machine. Let's say she is from the distant future and came back to our time. If you had a time machine and was going to go to the past…wouldn't you not bring money from the future if you knew it looked different?"

Tony grinned, "If I knew it looked different! Sam's one of us. Ya know…a screw up!"

Bill asked, "You think Sam is from the future and has a time machine and came back in time and screwed up and spent money from the future?"

He nodded, "She's one of us."

Bill asked the boy, "Where would she get this time machine from?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. I don't know that kind of stuff. Maybe her dad made it?" he suggested. He walked over to his seat and admitted, "I just want to know if she can get me a set like her dad's." he plopped himself down. He then looked at his watch, "Damn…I am early." He kicked back, put his feet on the desk and laid his head back to take a nap.

Bill suggested, "Show Sam that quarter. She can't say it's from her father's collection. See what she comes up with. And hold onto it. Don't let her have it."

"I will." Ralph agreed.

Tony spoke with eyes still closed, "It's still my quarter. I want it back."

Ralph gave heavy sigh.

"See ya later, Ralph." Bill stated and then walked out the door.

Meanwhile

Sam returned to high school with Caitlin as officially she was still looking for the source of the bills though Archangel was working on a way to close the case out. Caitlin parked the jeep in the student parking area and readied herself for another day undercover as a high school student.

"Ready?" she asked Sam.

Sam gathered a soft sided cooler from beneath her feet, "I guess I am."

Caitlin asked, "What's that?"

"My lunch." she replied. "School lunch is inedible. So, I brought my own."

"But that's a lunch box from your time." she countered. She took a closer look, "That lunch box has a cloth shell and zipper top. It's looks more like a cooler than a lunchbox. Did you see what the kids bring?"

"The metal lunch boxes or a paper bag. Those things are collectable now." she nodded. "I mean…you know what I mean…"

"Should you use a cooler that's from the future?" she wondered. She admitted, "Thought it's a nice lunchbox. I wouldn't mind that myself."

She sarcastically asked, "Is the time travel police gonna ticket me for it?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes, "Could you change the timeline by bringing it?"

"Isn't the whole goal of me being here to change the timeline so Dom doesn't die and String doesn't get wounded for life?" she reminded her.

She paused and admitted, "You have a point." She then stated, "Just don't leave your phone laying around."

She smirked, "You are the one who dropped it in the toilet."

Caitlin's shoulder's slunk, "Older me did it. Not me…me. And how did you find out?"

"I had to fix it." she informed. "I spent last night fixing it. You did a number on it." She climbed out of the vehicle.

Catlin climbed out as well. The pair started walking towards the school. Caitlin went from trying to be an older sister figure to sibling rivalry mode. She countered, "At least I didn't spend money that was not made yet."

"It was an accident." she rebutted.

"So was the phone in the toilet." she countered.

Sam figured, "But now you know in advanced it will happen and you have a chance to prevent it."

"But you had to fix my phone." she reminded her. "So that didn't change."

"You will have to wait 38 years." she countered.

"That's stupid." she miffed.

Sam agreed, "Rule number five to the Explorer's Guide to Time Travel…one must learn patients and to be aware where their cell phone is at all times."

Caitlin wrapped her arm around Sam's shoulder. She assured, "We will get through this."

"We will." she agreed.

Meanwhile

Bill Maxwell decided to pay a visit to Stringfellow Hawke after leaving Ralph's class. He walked to the classroom and found String had just arrived and placed a briefcase on the desk as he would have to substitute another week. Bill rapped on the door, "Mr. Hawke."

He looked over, "Mr. Maxwell."

Bill stepped in and came closer. He kept his voice down as he spoke to ensure no student entering the classroom behind him could hear. He started, "That was some fancy flying over the weekend. Airwolf saved my bacon."

"You know of Airwolf?" he asked surprised.

"FBI got a report." he informed. "Heard you and your crew ran into Ralph out there." he added.

He asked, "Yes! We did and honestly, seeing a man wearing a red suit flying through the air like something out of a comic book is something we don't see every day."

"Yeah," he had to agree, "the jammies are pretty special. You won't believe how he got those." he mentioned.

"Aliens?" String asked.

Surprised Bill agreed, "Yeah! Aliens! I know how it all sounds. But I was there that night. Saw some stuff that you just don't see every day." He then mentioned, "Like my dead partner, walking around with bullet holes in him. Bright lights…" he tailed off. "You are working for the FIRM. They sent you in here."

He confessed, "They did."

"What for?" he asked suspiciously.

String went with the cover, "To find who is passing the counterfeit money."

Bill stated, "Oh, I think we know who it is. Funny! Another quarter was found. This one dated 2019 and is California. Samantha Santini is passing them. Or is her name Samantha Hawke? Just not sure why she is passing the money around. But I got a good look at the coin collection she brought in. She said it belonged to her dad. Two names were hand written on the back. One of those names is your name. The other…your brother's."

String let out a sigh, "You are hound dog."

"It wasn't just one coin. How many coins did she use?" he questioned.

"Not sure. She didn't pay that much attention to them. She spent them at the mall playing video games." he informed.

"Where did she get these coins from? The bills! Where did it come from?" he pressed.

"The bank." he informed. "Sinjin had to take a coin out of his collection so she could get that one back. I was hoping no more coins would surface."

Bill asked, "What does the FIRM got? Some top secret time travel program. The bills and the coins are real."

"The FIRM doesn't have it." he slyly replied. "Sam wants to see the suit. Heck, I want to see the suit too. She knows Hinkley got the suit from aliens and he lost the instruction manual. My crew also knows. So does Michael Knight. We are not here for the suit. We just want to examine it."

Bill shook his head with a cocky smile, "The FIRM must think I'm pretty stupid."

"The FIRM has nothing to do with it and honestly, you figured out a lot of this on your own. I'm impressed!" he admitted.

Bill asked, "So…is Sam your daughter or your brother's daughter?"

"My niece." he assured him.

"Is she any relation at all to Dominic Santini?" he questioned.

He nodded, "She's his great niece." He didn't say who Sam's mother is.

Bill pressed, "Does she have a some kind of machine that allows for time travel?"

String told him, "It's an engine."

"What kind of engine?" he wondered.

"The kind of engine you would need for a space ship to go from one planet to another." he informed. He gave a hint, "Think Star Trek." The first of the students began to enter to the room. He motioned, "I got a class to teach. Why don't you and Mr. Hinkley swing by the air field after school. And bring the jammies." he instructed.

Bill knew he was onto something big. He agreed, "I'll see you there." He then left the room as the teenagers took their seats.

Caitlin noticed the FBI agent as she walked past him. She looked to String and have a motion with his head as the man left.

He smiled back, "After school."