Caitlin slid carefully out of the missile compartment and crawled across the cockpit floor to the back of the front seats. She peeked over them cautiously. OK, she thought despondently, her hopes that the situation would have been resolved in the hour or so she had waited hadn't come true; they were all still captured. She snuck back to the engineer's console and frowned at the video playing on the monitor. Her vision narrowed on the image of the Airwolf team and zeroed in on her son. Nicky seemed to be asleep on Saint John's shoulder. She closed her eyes on an emotional wave of relief; her brother-in-law was obviously keeping the baby close. Her eyes snapped open. She had turned the surveillance systems on before she had clambered into the missile compartment but hadn't directed them at anything. Her mind raced over the possibilities and she found herself reaching for the communications buttons and a headset. She connected to Red Star using an encrypted emergency channel checking all the while for any sign that the men keeping the team hostage might move and discover her.

'Hawke.' Caitlin whispered. 'Come in. Hawke.'

The video channel flickered into immediate life and she channelled the audio through the headset only to ensure there was no noise in the cockpit. Hawke looked back at her through the monitor.

'Caitlin? Are you OK?'

To anyone else Hawke's face might have appeared expressionless but Caitlin had been his wife for a long time. She could see past the mask to the worry lurking in his blue eyes and buried in the calm tone of his voice. 'I'm OK.' She murmured hurriedly reaching out a hand to the screen. 'I'm in Airwolf.'

Michael appeared on the screen. 'They don't know you're there?'

'No.' Caitlin glanced over at the platform. 'When they checked the cockpit I hid in the missile compartment.'

'Good thinking.' Michael praised her. 'It gives us an advantage.'

'Do you know what's happening?' Caitlin asked.

'The group sent a demand to the Company; ten million dollars by midnight or they use Airwolf to attack targets on US soil.' Michael said succinctly. He leaned forward. 'Any attempt to take back Airwolf and they'll detonate a nuclear bomb somewhere in the US.'

'We don't know for certain there is a bomb.' Hawke said. 'It could be a bluff.'

'A big bluff.' Caitlin replied. She swallowed hard. 'I guess a rescue is out then until we find out whether the bomb exists and if it does, take it out of the equation.'

'As much as I hate to say it,' Michael said, 'I think that's the immediate plan.'

Caitlin looked at Hawke's grave face through the monitor. She knew he would prefer to have Nicky and her safe first. 'Well,' she said trying to think through the options, 'we should all be safe at least until midnight, right? After all, they presumably need the team to fly Airwolf.' She sighed and rubbed her arms. 'So what do we know and how do we find this bomb?'

'What we know is very little.' Michael admitted. 'We think the group has Locke and that's how they got your location.'

'Locke's supposed to be in Paris.' Caitlin whispered sneaking another look at the cave.

'He didn't make it.' Hawke said.

'Caitlin, the only other piece of information we've been able to find out is that guy at the communications console on the platform is in an ex-air force major called Bridges.' Marella said.

'We flew out of the same unit in 'Nam for a while after Saint John went missing.' Hawke explained. 'But we weren't really friends.'

'And that's about as much as we know.' Marella finished.

'That's not a lot.' Caitlin murmured.

'We really have to find out whether the bomb exists.' Hawke muttered.

Caitlin frowned. 'This guy Bridges has been sat at the communication console a while.'

'You think he's using it?' Marella asked instantly catching onto Caitlin's point.

'Can we find out?' Caitlin asked.

Karen appeared on the video. 'We should be able to establish a link across the network. Hold on.'

Caitlin waited anxiously until the monitor suddenly changed and the data flew across the screen.

'There've been two calls in the last hour. One from the console and one to the console.' Karen confirmed. She shook her head. 'I can't trace them.'

'Why not?' Michael asked.

'The encryption is very sophisticated. I think he's bounced the calls off a couple of satellites.' Karen bit her lip. 'I could probably track it but it could take time.'

'What about Airwolf?' Caitlin suggested. 'Can't her artificial intelligence do all of this really quickly?'

'It would be risky for her to transfer to the network.' Karen said. 'She needs an open connection to her programming in the new Airwolf computer.'

'It's no more risky than her transferring to this computer in the old machine.' Caitlin pointed out.

'Besides we have no way to ask her.' Karen said.

Caitlin's eyes met Hawke's in the monitor. 'You could try talking to her again, Hawke.'

Hawke cleared his throat. 'Airwolf, this is Captain Hawke. Can you establish a link with the communication system in the Lair?'

Yes.

The text appeared on the monitor.

Michael's mouth fell open before he snapped it shut again. He never got used to seeing Airwolf respond to Hawke.

'Establish a link with the communications system in the Lair and decrypt the last two communications and display on this monitor.' Hawke ordered.

Request confirmed. Link established. Decrypting messages. Displaying.

A video of Bridges played. The first message had him confirming Airwolf and the Lair were secure. The second message showed another man confirming team beta was in position and that they had the prisoner.

'Prisoner.' Caitlin repeated. 'You think they meant Locke?'

'Possibly.' Michael said.

'Airwolf,' Hawke asked, 'can you trace where the second message originated?'

Request confirmed.

A moment later a set of coordinates appeared on the screen.

'That's just outside LA.' Marella said. She shook her head. 'If they were going to set off a nuclear bomb wouldn't it make more sense for them be somewhere else?'

'They can always use Airwolf to escape the blast.' Hawke pointed out. He gestured. 'We should go check this out.' His blue eyes flickered back to his wife. 'Caitlin…'

'I'll stay here.' Caitlin said trying to lighten the moment.

'Karen will stay on the comms channel.' Michael said. 'Stay connected for as long as you can but if it looks like you're going to be discovered…'

'I'll hide in the missile compartment.' Caitlin confirmed. Her eyes stayed on her husband. 'Be safe.'

Hawke nodded. 'You too.'

It didn't take long for Hawke, Michael and Marella to make their way to the hangar and prepare to leave in the new Airwolf helicopter.

Michael adjusted the helmet and shifted on the engineer's chair. He fidgeted as Hawke finished the pre-flight checks. He noticed Marella's fingers were tapping anxiously on the arm of her seat at the front.

'You two don't have to come.' Hawke said quietly.

'I'm coming.' Michael stated authoritatively.

'So am I.' Marella said. 'We have no idea what we'll find out there. You may need us.'

Hawke sighed and adjusted his position in the commander's seat. He punched in the start button and checked the systems as the engines fired and the rotors gained power. 'Michael, lay in the coordinates.'

'Coordinates are laid in. Course plotted.' Michael confirmed.

'OK. Let's take her up.' Hawke raised the cyclic and felt the aircraft vibrate underneath him. He raised her off the ground and hit the turbos. They shot forward across the dusty expanse of Devil's Anvil, quickly leaving the Red Star complex behind.

'Michael, scan ahead to the coordinates.' Hawke ordered. 'I want to see what we're heading into.'

'Right.' Michael tapped in the instructions. 'We haven't tested this system yet have we?'

'There's always a first time for everything.' Hawke said dryly.

'Scans are showing an abandoned factory.' Michael said with a frown. 'Two helicopters on the ground. One vehicle. There's a man outside by the vehicle.'

'Scan the building for life-signs.' Hawke suggested.

Michael changed the scan and reviewed the data. 'There are three life-signs on the ground floor outside a room with another life-sign in the room.'

'Locke must be inside the room with the guards outside.' Marella said reviewing the data on the front screen.

'So we've got four unfriendlies.' Hawke murmured. 'Any sign of that bomb?'

'Scanning.' Michael said. He sighed. 'I'm picking up faint traces of weapons grade plutonium in the East side of the building. It could be a bomb.'

'We need to go in and check.' Marella said.

'It's too risky. I can't descend with the guy outside. We'll get discovered.' Hawke said roughly. 'If they might alert the team at the Lair, everyone there could end up dead.'

'We have to take that risk.' Marella argued. 'If this is a bomb, we can't let them arm it.'

Hawke's jaw tightened.

'Hawke, we care about them too but if this bomb goes off, at this range, they won't survive it and neither will the rest of the West coast.' Michael said gently. 'This has to be our priority.'

Hawke knew Michael was right but it didn't change the sick feeling in his gut from knowing what they were about to do would put his whole family at risk. There had to be a way to ensure that risk was reduced, he thought desperately. 'We need to take the bomb out of the equation without risking the team at the Lair.'

'That just might not be possible.' Michael said sighing. His eye narrowed at the monitor. 'Hawke, the man outside just got into one of the helicopters. He's leaving.'

Hawke grimaced. 'Let him go. It makes life easier for us if he's not here.'

'Nobody else is coming out.' Marella noted. 'Look, maybe this is our opportunity.' She gestured. 'Maybe I can sneak in and just sabotage the bomb. They'll be none the wiser until they try to arm it. It'll give us some breathing space to try and attempt a rescue at the Lair.'

'Can you do sabotage it?' Hawke asked.

Marella shrugged. 'I have some experience with bombs. I can try.'

'OK then.' Hawke shifted position a little. 'Here's the plan; you two will sneak into the factory and sabotage the bomb.'

'I can go on my own…' Marella began.

'No.' Both men spoke in unison.

'You'll need a look out.' Hawke said.

'He's right.' Michael added. 'I'll provide you with back-up while you deal with the bomb.'

'Your main priority is sabotaging the bomb without alerting the bad guys at the factory that you're there.' Hawke said.

'What about Locke?' Marella asked.

'What about Locke?' Hawke replied.

Marella frowned at him. 'Shouldn't we try to rescue him?'

'Not right now.' Hawke said.

'Would you say that if it was Saint John in that room?' Marella asked sharply.

'Probably not.' Hawke admitted as he turned his head to meet her dark eyes firmly. 'But then it would probably be you telling me that any rescue attempt would only endanger the lives of the people back to the Lair.'

'So, we deal with the bomb…' Marella summarised.

'And then put together a simultaneous rescue plan.' Hawke said. 'We get the team at the Lair sprung at the same time as pulling Locke out.'

'How are we going to do that?' Marella asked.

'Let's deal with one thing at a time.' Michael suggested.

'We should contact Caitlin and warn her.' Marella said.

'I'll do it once I drop you.' Hawke adjusted their course slightly and raised their altitude. He didn't want the departing helicopter seeing them approach. They waited until the helicopter had gone before Hawke dived to the ground and dropped them.

'Good luck.' Hawke said watching them leave. He took Airwolf back up and hit the buttons to connect to the original Airwolf. 'Caitlin?'

'I'm still safe and so is everyone else.' Caitlin confirmed. 'Nicky's asleep. Saint John's been taking good care of him.'

His hand gripped the stick tightly. 'You're doing the right thing hiding, Cait.'

She sighed. 'What's going on your end?'

He filled her in on the plan to sabotage the bomb. 'You should be prepared, Cait.' He said gruffly. 'If anything goes wrong, if they get discovered…'

'It'll go bad for us here too.' Caitlin finished.