Chapter 58

String walked out to check on Airwolf and once again found Sergeant Rizzo at the door. He had the netting pulled back and was picking the lock. String barked, "Rizzo!"

The man paused and slowly turned towards String. A smile crept across his face as he knew he was busted trying to get inside the high tech chopper. "Captain Hawke. How are you this fine, day?" he tried to bluff his way out of the situation.

String looked him dead in the eye and huffed, "Get!"

"Right!" he jumped. "I was just making sure it was all tight and secured, Captain." If looks could kill Rizzo knew he would be a dead man. He quickly made his break. "Looks good, Captain. I'll be on my way now." he quickly walked away wishing he had just a few more minutes to open the lock.

String then doubled checked the lock and then replaced the netting. He soured at the mere thought of that greasy mechanic nearly gaining entry into Airwolf. As he finished another sore sight greeted him. He turned and found Corporal Maxwell Klinger had marched out to get him wearing what looked like the outfit the protagonist wore in the Wizard of Oz, complete with a picnic basket and ruby red shoes. "Could this camp get any crazier?" he grumbled.

Klinger came to a halt and gave a salute, "Captain! Colonel Potter wants to see you in his office immediately, sir."

"Right now?" he asked.

"Right now, sir!" Klinger reported. He then asked gleeful, "Captain…do you think I'm crazy?"

He made a sour face, "You even had to ask?"

"Great!" he cheered. "Put me in for a section eight, sir." Klinger assumed String could get him out of the army.

At that point String realized what Klinger was attempting to do. He shook his head, "I can't do that?"

He asked, "Why not? I'm certifiably crazy."

"Because you are sane." he told him. "Only a crazy person would want to be here." He began to walk away and paused. He turned slightly and stated, "That outfit might just get you a promotion in the military."

His eyes grew wide, "I don't want a promotion! I want out."

"Don't we all?" he asked. He then stated, "Rizzo has been snooping around the bird. Keep an eye out for me."

Klinger asked, "If I keep an eye out will you give me that section eight?"

He smirked, "We will see." He walked away knowing he could do nothing of the such.

Klinger pondered, "If I can get on his good side, maybe I can get out."

Meanwhile

Sam and Caitlin walked into headquarters after being requested to do so by Klinger. They laughed to themselves.

"You could write a book on Klinger's outfits alone." Caitlin chuckled.

"He would go viral." she agreed.

Caitlin shook her head, "Nah, he would have too much completion on that realm." She noticed the office was full with the senior officer, the camp Father and Dom. She wondered if something was wrong, "Is everything okay?"

Dom nodded, "Colonel Potter just wants to make sure we are all on the same page." He then noticed String walk into the clerks' office after the two women. He could tell by the look on his face Klinger was up to his old antics. "String!"

He walked into the officer behind Caitlin and Sam. He asked, "Just how is that crazy corporal getting those outfits?"

Sherman grinned, "Today's outfit is a doozy."

"He's dressed like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz." he told him. "He asked me to give him a section eight."

Dom grinned, "And what did you say?"

"I would think about it if he kept Rizzo away from the bird. Caught him there twice. This morning he was trying to pick the lock." he informed.

Dom warned, "He might be able to pick that lock. He's pretty handy with tools."

"He's a pain in the ass." String stated bluntly.

"I never said he wasn't." Dom reminded him.

String asked, "What's this meeting about?"

Sherman stated, "It's about your predicament, son. It has come to our attention that bird sitting outside of camp has guns. That could make the 4077th a legitimate target by the enemy. Does that bird have weapons?"

String replied, "It used to but not anymore. The weapons are disabled. Dom could have told you that."

Margaret asked, "Can you assure us the weapons are disabled?"

He nodded, "Yes! We don't even have ammo for the guns. How did you find out about the guns?"

Radar stood in the corner looking rather down. He admitted, "I told them."

String questioned him, "And how did you find out?"

Sam spoke, "I gave him a tour and mentioned it used to have weapons."

String looked at her, "You gave Radar a tour. Why?"

She shrugged, "He came to get me for lunch and was right there so I said he could look inside."

Radar assured, "I was trying real hard not to look."

Sam agreed, "He was so sweet. He was standing there with his eyes closed trying to not look inside." She mimicked the move. "How can you say 'no' to that move? It's not like he wanted a ride and selfies."

String smirked, "I'm surprised you didn't offer him a ride."

Caitlin agreed, "I'm surprised how well Sam has done keeping quiet. Usually, she blabs all over the place." She patted her shoulder, "Getting better."

She rolled her eyes annoyed, "Thanks."

Colonel Sherman stated, "I have informed the senior staff, to the best of my ability about your predicament and that you are stuck here and need cover."

Sam asked surprised, "And they believe you?"

Charles stated, "One has to admit the packaging for those rations you have been giving Pierce and Hunnicutt is not like anything we currently have."

Dom agreed, "The first MRE doesn't come out until the 80's, Sam. The bags are not as sturdy as the ones from your time."

She asked, "So…I still screwed up?"

"Just a little." he agreed. "How was the ration I gave you?"

"I haven't opened it yet. I'm saving it for when I get back. I was going to do one of those reviews on it that you see online." she explained.

Charles asked, "What is this 'online' that you speak of?"

She looked to Dom, "I'm not sure I can explain it to them. What do they have that's similar?"

Dom agreed, "That could be harder." He looked to Charles, "It's a party line. But instead of it being on a telephone, it's on a television and you can talk into the TV and communicate. Think of it as a TV, connected with a phone line to other TV's that people can talk on and show pictures."

Charles pondered, "That sounds fascinating. Who makes this new invention?"

She replied, "The government. It's DARPA for civvies."

He balked, "The government runs it. I must say I'm amazed. Is it any good? The government doesn't have a good track record at managing things."

Radar miffed, "Boy…you can say that again."

She explained, "Private companies took it over from the government."

He pressed, "What are these private companies? Bell. Zenith."

Hawkeye held up a hand, "Don't tell him. He's trying to make money off all this."

"I know." she agreed. "Honestly, those companies have not been invented yet. Not for years to come."

Charles pressed, "What about short term then? Does this war ever end?"

She nodded, "Yes!" She looked to Dom, "When did Korea end?"

"Another year." he told the officers.

Hawkeye gasped, "Another year? I'm not sure I can hold out mentally that long."

Margaret soothed, "But we now know it does end and it's just one more year. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We can get through this."

BJ confessed, "I was thinking this would thing last for years on end. Now, I know I will get back and see my little girl in a year. I can look forward to that."

Charles agreed, "It gives us something to look forward too. An end to this nightmare." He then pressed, "What does this decade bring that's memorable?"

"Let's see, 50's rock." Sam recalled. "Not really my time. This is Dom's time. He knows more than I do. I won't be born until the year two thousand."

Caitlin added, "Me and String were just kids in the 50's. I remember the toys I had."

"Chatty Cathy?" Sam asked.

"That was the 60's." Caitlin told her.

She nodded, "Oh."

Dom explained, "The fifties is when toys became real popular. That continues all the way to my time. Heck, just last year parents were fighting over Cabbage Patch dolls to get their kids."

Caitlin agreed, "That Black Friday fights are a bit extreme lately."

Sam confessed, "I never went Black Friday shopping. I always thought it was kind of stupid. I just get stuff online and have it shipped."

String agreed, "Why I call it 'Black and Blue Friday'."

BJ smirked to Charles, "If you are gonna get richer it will be off toys, Charles."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm sure there are other innovations to invest in other than toys."

Dom insisted, "For the 50's…toys is where it's at."

Sam asked, "But didn't the fifties have a lot of metal toys and kids got hurt and companies got sued?"

Dom nodded, "Yup."

Hawkeye cheered, "Buy stock in toys, Charles."

Margaret stated, "All antics aside…what do you need us to do to help you?" She looked to Dom and then each of the crew.

Dom looked at Sam, "Any closer?"

She shook her head, "I cannot figure out what went wrong. All systems are operational. Thing is, there are no navigational markers recorded on how we got here so I have no idea how to get back yet. If I knew the markers I could reverse it. But nothing was recorded. It's like we were just pushed through a hole externally. Something pushed us here once we engaged the engine and I have no idea what it was or how it did it."

String stated, "So…the engine didn't bring us here by itself?"

"It didn't." she agreed. "The engine worked perfectly. Something else brought us here and I have no idea what or why. It's is odd that Dom was talking about his days in Korea right before all this happened. I don't know what the connection is yet."

Dom insisted, "I must have jinxed it."

String shook his head, "You did not jinx it, Dom." He pondered, "Did you scan for any signs of the foo fighters that were buzzing us before?"

She admitted, "I never thought of that."

"Do that and let me know what you find." he requested.

"I will!" she agreed.

BJ asked, "Foo fighters?"

Sherman spoke up, "Back during the last two wars pilots reported seeing these flying balls of light in the sky. I had pilots report seeing them in W.W. One. I saw one myself back during my Calvary days. It circled around the wounded in the camp. It went in and out of tents. Strangest thing I ever saw."

Hawkeye asked, "What are these balls of light?"

Sherman replied, "No one knows."

Sam stated, "It's some kind of probe. I don't know who is behind it or why but it is a probe that gathers information."

"It did appear to be probing the camp to me." Sherman had to agree.

Caitlin suggested, "Maybe we should start taking testimony of these encounters. Major Hawke and Dom had an encounter. We've been having these encounters too. Now, it turns out Colonel Potter had one. Maybe we should write these down and see if there is a correlation."

Dom agreed, "That's a good idea, Cait."

Sam stated, "I'm kind of busy right now. I'm still trying to map coordinates to get us home."

Caitlin assured, "I can do it. I have time and know how to gather evidence."

Charles rolled his eyes annoyed, "Ah' yes…you said you were once a law enforcement officer.'

Dom stated, "Cait can hold her own."

Sam asked, "What's it to you, Major? I mean…I saw the nurses working with you and the other doctors. Some of these nurses can easily becomes surgeons. Major Houlihann would make a really good doctor."

Margaret smiled brightly, "You think I could become a doctor? A surgeon."

She nodded.

Charles agreed, "You would make an excellent surgeon, Margaret."

BJ complimented, "I think so too."

Hawkeye agreed, "I know you would."

A warm feeling came over the nurse as the three men who seemed to always bother her had encouraged her instead.

Radar then stepped out of the room for a moment to take a message. "I better get that." he excused.

Margaret beamed as he confidence rose. "I never knew you doctors that I could be a doctor too."

Sherman agreed, "You could, Margaret. You would make an excellent surgeon. Heck, I would gladly use you as my own doctor."

"Thank you, sir." she replied grateful.

Radar then returned to the room. He seemed a bit worried, "Sirs…Ma'am…" he gulped holding the paper.

Hawkeye asked, "What is it, Radar?"

"The camp is to expect Lieutenant Colonel Frank Burns tomorrow morning for an inspection. Expect the inspection to last forty eight hours." he gulped.

Margaret grew pale, "Frank is coming back?"

BJ rolled his head back and looked up, "Great." he miffed.

Charles asked, "Frank Burns. The man I replaced?"

Hawkeye nodded, "Yes! He's coming back here?" he asked stressed.

Sherman stated, "I'm sure we can handle Burns for the next forty eight hours."

Dom recalled the crazy doctor. He warned, "We need to keep him away from Airwolf. He will report us to the military and have us arrested. He will have Airwolf and your engine confiscated, Sam."

String came to attention, "This guy Burns is trouble?"

Hawkeye agreed, "Big time trouble for all of you." he motioned with his finger.