Chapter 53
After dinner the crew was invited to the officer's club for a nightcap. Father Mulcahy sat at the piano and played a tune as the doctors bellied up to the small portable bar. Much to their surprise they found enlisted were welcomed in the club as well.
The head mechanic was playing poker with other enlisted in a far corner. Smoke filled the air as men and women lit up for the evening.
Caitlin and Sam stood in a corner and observed.
Sam soured as her eyes watered, "I know why they banned smoking inside."
Caitlin admitted, "That was the only good thing about going to a bar in your time."
Dom sat at the bar beside Colonel Potter. He nursed a drink and lit a cigar that was given to him by the bartender. He found returning to Korea during the war was like putting on an old pair of boots that fit perfectly to the wearer's feet as he slid back into old habits.
String stood back by the Caitlin and Sam and watched the scene unfold.
Sergeant Rizzo looked upon the guest. He wanted a better look at the chopper hidden outside camp. He figured he would get chummy with the crew. He called, "You are welcome to play cards with us, Captain…Lieutenants."
String cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Caitlin and Sam. "Shall we?" he asked.
Caitlin was up for a game. "I'm in." she smiled brightly and then took a seat.
Sam wasn't into gambling. She shook her head, "I think I'll pass. Been a long day. I'll just watch."
"Okay," he agreed and then slid into a seat at the table. He glanced at Caitlin as the two knew it was very likely some cheating would occur in the game.
Rizzo chomped on his cigar and started to deal the cards. He asked, "Got any money, Captain?"
"Not on me." he confessed.
He grinned, "I'll spot ya." He figured if he could get String in debt then maybe he could get a peak inside Airwolf.
Sam soon made her way over to the bar and took a seat on the end as she got bored watching the game. She sat next to Radar who was nursing a grape soda.
The bartender asked "What will be, Captain?"
"I'll gave a grape soda." she requested seeing Radar's drink.
Radar looked over at her, "You like grape Nehi too?"
"I'll drink a soda once in a while." she agreed.
Radar mentioned, "That's a real neat chopper you came in on, Lieutenant."
"Airwolf is the only chopper in the world that reach mach one." she told him.
He gasped, "Are you serious?"
She nodded, "Few can fly her." She changed the subject, "They call you 'Radar' because you can hear choppers before they come in with wounded?"
He nodded, "Usually! I didn't hear your chopper though."
"Can you hear or see anything else?" she wondered.
"I don't understand the question." he replied.
"See ghost or anything?" she asked.
He shook his head, "I've never seen a ghost but my grandmother could see ghost."
"I've never seen a ghost either." she confessed as if she was disappointed in herself.
Radar asked, "What do you do? Other than fly around in a top secret chopper."
"I'm a pilot, engineer and inventor." she explained. "I work on developing new engines and I do stunts at air shows."
"Wow!" he gasped. "A lady barnstormer. That's real neat."
"Barnstormer." she had to chuckle slightly.
Radar asked, "Is Colonel Santini any relation to Major Santini? He looks just like him. I mean…just like him. Even sounds like him too."
"Why not ask him that?" she smirked.
"There is a rumor going around camp." he told her.
She asked, "What's the rumor?"
"That he is Major Santini." he explained.
She cocked a half smile, "Maybe he is. Tell me about Major Santini."
Radar replied fondly, "He's real nice to us enlisted. He's dating Nurse Baker. He was in the last war and was a decorated fighter ace. He can catch Rizzo cheating." he motioned towards the poker game.
She smiled, "Dom's a good guy."
"How did you know Major Santini's first name?" he wondered.
"That's his first name." she motioned toward Dom sitting nearby.
Radar wonder, "Is he?" he squinted trying to figure it all out in his mind.
Nurse Baker came up behind Dom and wrapped her arms around him. She gave him a big hug and then whispered in his ear, "They are playing our song."
Dom grinned, "So they are." He placed his drank down along with the cigar and stood up to dance with Nurse Baker.
Sam placed her chin in the palm of her hand and mentioned, "I hope he remembers he's old enough to be her father now."
Radar looked on as Nurse Baker danced with the older man. He wondered if the Colonel was indeed the Major who was so kind to him.
Next Morning
Caitlin and Sam woke up with the nurses' the next day. They were given the time and days the nurses took a shower as the showers were shared with the men of the camp.
Caitlin looked at Sam and mentioned, "Now I know why Dom takes a sponge bath half the time. Must be left over from the military."
"Same with my dad." she nodded in agreement. "Of course there was that one challenge where you don't wash your hair for a year…" she recalled.
Caitlin made a face, "That's just gross."
"So was the 'don't bath or shower for a year' challenge." she nodded. "Kind of glade the 'don't brush your teeth for a year' challenge faded."
Caitlin made a sour face and opened the door. The pair emerged from the tent and made their way back to the mess tent. They talked about what the next step would be in returning home.
Sam mentioned, "I can start running diagnostics today. See what went wrong."
"Just let me know what I can do." Caitlin agreed as they walked inside the tent.
They soon gathered a cup of coffee and a metal tray for breakfast. Hawkeye Pierce was before them. He noticed the two pretty women enter.
"Ladies." he greeted them cheerfully.
Caitlin replied professionally, "Good morning, Captain."
"Morning Captain." Sam echoed. She looked over the selection. She found scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns and bacon. She grinned, "Hey…a full breakfast. Like in a hotel."
Hawkeye cocked an eyebrow, "The eggs are powdered, the hash browns are dehydrated, the toast kind of edible and the bacon…" he puckered, "I can't complain about the bacon."
Caitlin stated, "It's bacon. Fool proof!"
"Exactly!" the doctor agreed. "Care to sit with me and BJ this morning?" he invited the pair.
Sam and Caitlin traded glances and nodded. Caitlin replied, "Why not!" They followed him to the table and took a seat after gathering the food.
BJ greeted, "Morning Lieutenants."
"Morning." Sam stated.
"Good Morning, Captain." Caitlin greeted.
Hawkeye watched on as Sam dug into the eggs and began to eat. He waited for her reaction. "You seem to like the eggs."
"Taste like McDonald's." she shrugged.
BJ asked, "Mick what?"
Sam asked Caitlin, "Has McDonald's started yet?"
"I have no idea." she replied. "Are you craving a cinnamon roll again?"
She shook her head, "The fries."
Caitlin countered, "You know there are better places to eat than McDonald's."
"True." she agreed.
BJ asked, "Is this McDonald's place a restaurant?"
Caitlin nodded, "It is."
Sam looked across at the doctor, "They call you 'Hawkeye'."
He informed, "It's a nickname my father gave me. After Last of the Mohicans. My full name is Benjamin Franklin Pierce."
Sam mentioned, "Last of the Mohicans was a great movie."
"It's a book." he told her.
"The movie was based on the book." she nodded.
Caitlin warned, "Sam…you are doing it again."
"Too chatty?" she asked.
She nodded, "Ah-ha."
She rolled her head back annoyed, "This is so stupid. Half the camp already knows Dom anyways."
BJ stated, "So tell me about this chopper you guys flew in on. I didn't get to see it. I was doing rounds."
Hawkeye waited eagerly, "It's slick Beege!"
Caitlin stated, "You can't see inside it. It's classified."
"Can I see what it looks like. The whole camp is talking about it." he pleaded.
Hawkeye stated, "It's not like the chopper we got. It's looks more like the body of a small plane with blades on top. No glass bubble. And it has wheels to land on. Like landing gear for a plane. No skids."
Sam offered, "I have to go and run some diagnostics. You can look at it from afar. Just can't get too close."
"I appreciate that. It's nice to know what everyone else is talking about." he thankfully replied.
Next to the table with his breakfast was Charles Winchester the Third. He only sat with the other two doctor to speak to Sam and Caitlin. "Good morning Caitlin and Samantha." he greeted the women and essentially ignored the men.
Caitlin greeted, "Morning Major."
"Morning…Chuck." Sam smirked annoyed for she not only understood he wanted information to get richer but also insisted on calling her by her full name. She would only let KITT call her Samantha for KITT called everyone by their full name.
Hawkeye grinned, "Morning…Chuck!"
He growled at his tent mate, "Shove it, Pierce." He took a seat across from Sam still trying to gain inside information. He played it smooth, "You look very lovely this morning, Lieutenant."
Sam looked to Caitlin and stated, "Remember how you said I spend too much time playing games on my phone."
"Yeah," she nodded amused.
She soured, "What I would give to be able to do that right now." She wished she could find a way of ignoring Charles.
BJ asked, "How do you play games on a phone?" He could not imagine what she was referencing.
Caitlin looked at BJ's confused face and then spoke to Sam, "I'll give you credit. This is way harder than it looks."
"So…I'm not a dum-dum?" she smirked.
"Just add another rule for your book." Caitlin told her.
Charles asked, "You are an author?"
She admitted, "I'm working on a book."
He pressed, "What's kind of book are you writing?"
"And instruction manual." she replied.
"About what?" he wondered. "Do you have a working title? I do have friends in the publishing industry."
Caitlin closed her eyes for just a moment as she waited for the admission to drop.
Sam stated, "It's called the Explorer's Guild to Time Travel." She said nothing else and went back to eating.
The three men paused. BJ assumed, "It must be fiction. Like Huckleberry Finn." He figured she was teasing them.
Charles asked curiously, "What is the first rule?"
"Don't spend money from the future in the past." she explained.
"Why is that?" Charles pressed.
She mentioned, "The dates are all wrong."
Charles glanced at Caitlin who sat nodding to herself as she recalled Sam spending money from 2022 in 1984.
Curious BJ removed his wallet and looked at his cash. "That right! Money is dated."
Hawkeye sat pondering if perhaps there were from the future after all.
Charles pressed, "Bell made the chopper?"
She nodded.
"Bell Aircraft?" he pondered. "I wasn't aware they had much going for R&D." he told them.
She agreed, "They don't." She paused, "I think they went bankrupt."
Caitlin pondered, "I think they did too."
Charles stated, "Bell Aircraft is still in business. They have downsized after the war." He pondered, "Bell goes bankrupt?" He cocked his head, "Should I pull my investments?"
"I have no idea." Sam shrugged.
Caitlin cautioned, "I don't think you should be asking us for investment advice. We're not financial experts, Major."
"I understand." he told them.
BJ asked, "What exactly do you two do?"
Caitlin explained, "I was a cop and now I'm a pilot and aircraft mechanic."
Charles scoffed unbelieving, "You don't find many women police officers unless they are a meter maid."
She narrowed her eyes, "I was also on patrol…even rode a motorcycle…on patrol."
Sam asked Caitlin rather jealous, "You even got to be a on a motorcycle?"
"Yes!" she nodded.
"I wish I could ride." she pouted.
"Learn to drive a standard first." she told her.
BJ asked, "How about you?" He looked at Sam.
"I'm a pilot and flight engineer. I also designed and test experimental engines." she explained.
Charles perked up, "Oh! What kind of engine are you working on?"
Before Sam could answer Caitlin interrupted, "That's classified, Major." She nudged Sam to be aware of giving out too much information.
Sam agreed, "It's classified."
Charles soured as he got nowhere in gaining inside information.