Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III tugged on his white waistcoat as he limped around his desk to the wall where the current details of the latest Airwolf mission were displayed on the large monitor.

'So what are we looking at here, Michael?' Hawke asked impatiently.

Michael sighed as he glanced across at the pilot. He could almost believe the last few years hadn't happened and it was still the beginning of the original Airwolf project. Hawke hadn't changed much; his boyish looks gave him the deceptive appearance of someone much younger than his thirty-six years, his short brown hair was in its usual military style and there weren't that many more laughter lines around his startling blue eyes. Michael's good eye dropped to the unopened briefing file clutched in Hawke's hand. No; nothing changed. He cleared his throat and gestured at the photo. 'This is Jarvosibrov, Russia. It's not far from the location where we discovered Moffett last year.'

Hawke sighed automatically tensing at the mention of Airwolf's late twisted creator. 'Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?'

'Because you're not going to like it?' quipped Mike Rivers.

The blonde haired air force major had assumed the position of Hawke's co-pilot in Airwolf a few weeks before having previously flown the helicopter with Saint John during the time the intelligence agency the Company had been in control of the machine. He had willingly transferred over when the Airwolf project had been transferred to the Department of Defence on the authority of a Presidential order. He, Hawke and Caitlin were beginning to find a rhythm as a crew and while Michael grimaced at the humour, Hawke's carefully guarded eyes lit up with appreciation while Caitlin hid a smile.

Michael hit the remote and another picture slid onto the screen. All three pilots leaned forward for a better look. 'Satellite picked this up two days ago.'

Caitlin frowned. 'That looks kinda like…'

'Airwolf.' Hawke completed.

Michael had the grim satisfaction of seeing them all turn to regard him with serious concern.

'Is that…?' Mike waved at the screen unwilling to complete the sentence.

'Yes.' Michael said.

There was a brief rap on the office door and it opened to reveal Marella, Michael's fiancée and right-hand woman. She swept across the office gracefully and handed him a set of pictures before she perched on his desk to join the rest of the briefing.

Michael glanced at the pictures before he handed them out to the Airwolf team. 'These are the latest images.' He leaned back against the console. 'We've known for some time that the Russian's were working on an Airwolf design. James Byrne managed to steal the first completed blueprint and get that away from Russia.'

Hawke and Caitlin exchanged a look; Caitlin had been badly wounded in the op to bring in Byrne. It was a mission both of them were happy to forget.

'When you went into Russia after Moffett last year, you reported that the Russian general told you their Airwolf design had been stolen.' Michael frowned. 'We've always assumed that he was referring to Byrne's theft.'

'But he wasn't.' Hawke murmured.

'These pictures would suggest otherwise.' Marella said smoothly brushing her hair back over her shoulder. Her dark eyes seemed to simmer with secrets as she looked at him. 'They show an almost fully completed Airwolf helicopter.'

'Almost?' Caitlin held up the picture. 'I would say she was done.'

'Our intel indicates that she's undergoing final flight tests.' Marella said.

'You want us to go in and destroy it.' Hawke surmised.

'Actually, that's not the primary objective.' Michael said.

Hawke's eyes narrowed on the spy. 'You want us to recover it.'

'You have to be kidding.' Mike gestured at the monitor. 'That place is a fortress.'

'A third Airwolf craft would be invaluable.' Michael said.

'Because the two we have aren't enough.' Caitlin said sarcastically folding her arms.

'At the moment, we only have one mission ready helicopter,' Marella pointed out, 'the original Airwolf. The newer model is still undergoing tests and adjustments. If Airwolf was damaged on a mission, we don't have a spare so having another would provide us with the ability to continue to perform missions if the original Airwolf was in for repair or for maintenance.'

Hawke rubbed his chin. 'You want us to steal the Russian Airwolf as a back-up.'

'Recover.' Michael said primly. 'After all, her design is owned by us but if you can't recover her, you're authorised to destroy her.'

'Mike's right; recovering her is going to be difficult.' Hawke said pointing at the screen. 'I'm seeing an outer and an inner perimeter; both of which are heavily guarded. There're anti-aircraft guns on the roof; four look-out positions with serious artillery…and I'm going to assume they have radar and other surveillance equipment.'

'You'd be right.' Marella said calmly.

'And you still expect us to recover it?' Mike asked in disbelief.

'We're confident if anybody can find a way, it's this team.' Michael confirmed.

Hawke leaned over to Mike although he kept his eyes on Michael. 'You know when he starts to flatter you that he's asking the impossible.'

Mike grinned appreciatively as Michael looked exasperated. 'What about an undercover op?'

'We don't have the time to create a feasible cover and quite frankly, we're playing catch up on this.' Michael admitted. 'If satellite images hadn't picked this up twenty-four hours ago, we'd still be none the wiser.'

Hawke sighed. 'We can go take a look but I'm not guaranteeing we'll bring it back.'

Michael nodded. 'There's one other thing.'

'There always is.' Hawke said dryly.

Michael pushed his glasses up his nose, brushing the black eye-patch. He pressed the remote again and the picture changed to a map showing a blacked out circle around Jarvosibrov. 'The area marked seems to be experiencing problems with long range communications.'

'A jammer?' Caitlin asked.

'Undoubtedly.' Michael agreed. 'Unfortunately, it's yet to be located. Once you enter this zone, communication will be impossible.'

'Although short range communication doesn't seem to be affected,' Marella added, 'so you should be able to use radios during your mission if you split up as a team.'

'Great, just great.' Caitlin muttered. She frowned. 'If long range communication is being jammed, what about Airwolf's AI?' She asked referring to the artificial intelligence Airwolf had developed. It operated from the new ship but used the telecommunications system to transfer between computers and helicopters. 'How is she going to keep connected with us?'

Marella smiled reassuringly. 'We had the relevant parts of the programming supporting the AI moved back to the original Airwolf and removed from the new ship last night in preparation for the mission today. She won't need the connection to remain with you.'

'Any other questions?' Michael asked.

Hawke looked at Caitlin and Mike who both shook their heads. He looked back at Michael. 'I guess not. We'll get going.'

They all rose to their feet as Michael and Marella wished them good luck.

Caitlin turned to Marella. 'Can you take look after Nicky until we get back?'

Marella nodded. 'No problem, and don't worry. Just get back within forty-eight hours; don't forget we have that dress fitting for the wedding.'

Caitlin attempted a smile. Marella and Michael were getting married in June and the final preparations were in full swing including dress fittings. The dress couldn't be any worse than the one her sister had chosen for her, Caitlin reassured herself.

'Damn.' Hawke sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. 'I'd better call Saint John and see if he can stay at the cabin tonight with Sarah and Chris.'

Caitlin laid a hand on his arm. 'Good idea. We can call him from Airwolf. The sooner we get this mission over with the better.'

Hawke didn't argue with her; he shared the sentiment.

Michael wandered back to the white leather chair behind his desk, his mind already turning to the other problem that had surfaced that morning and sat down.

Marella closed the door after the departing Airwolf team and walked back to him. 'You really think they can pull it off?'

'Hawke will think of something.' Michael said, glancing over the briefing document in front of him.

'What is it?' Marella asked seeing the concern on his face.

He passed her the piece of paper and leaned back in his chair watching her reaction.

'Jason Locke disappeared twenty-four hours ago.' Marella's dark eyes met Michael's gaze. 'I take it that wasn't planned.' The Company agent was undertaking a risky undercover operation to get close to Matt Sterling. The well-known businessman had been named as the man behind two attempts to grab Airwolf. They believed he was backed by Mafia money and ran a number of illegitimate activities alongside his legitimate business and philanthropy. He apparently had been able to compromise a number of Company operatives including an ex-deputy director called Marshall Evan whose betrayal of the Airwolf team had precipitated the Presidential order to move the Airwolf project to the DoD.

'No.' Michael rubbed his moustache. 'Locke was reporting in as scheduled until yesterday.'

'What are you thinking?' Marella asked.

'I'm not sure what I think.' Michael admitted. 'According to his reports, Locke was doing well. He was approached forty-eight hours after arriving in New York. They apparently fell for his act about bitter about losing control of Airwolf.'

'I don't think it was all an act.' Marella murmured.

Michael raised a hand from the desk in a vague gesture of acceptance. 'Which made it all the more convincing.' He swung back around to face her fully. 'He was expecting to be contacted by someone around the time he disappeared at a nightclub called Shakers.' He paused. 'It's owned by Sterling.'

'What about his back-up?' Marella asked.

'Simone lost him in the nightclub.' Michael admitted. 'She says he was taken to a VIP section and she couldn't follow him; by the time she'd convinced the bouncer to let her in, Locke was gone.'

'And no sightings at airports or train stations.' Marella noted.

'Kara's checking back through the surveillance tapes at the New York airports to be sure.' Michael sighed. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'

'What are you going to do?' Marella asked.

'Wait another twenty-four hours.' Michael said firmly. 'See if Locke surfaces on his own.'

'And if he does?' Marella probed.

'Then we'll soon find out if he's been compromised.' Michael said solemnly.

Marella put the document back down on the desk.

'Where are you going?' Michael asked bemused.

'To tell security to arrest Locke on sight.' Marella said continuing to walk to the door. She paused when she had the handle in her hand and turned back to look at him. 'I'm not taking any chances on losing another Airwolf.'

Michael nodded. He stared at the wooden door for a long time after she had left. What the hell had happened to Locke?