Chapter Six: Things Aren't Always As They Appear

PJF: Hang in there. You are a bigger hopeless romantic than I am.

Cait opened her eyes as her room slowly came into focus. She sat up in bed trying to remember how she got there. She was in the shirt she wore the night before but her shoes and jeans had been removed. It looked like someone had tucked her in. She tried to stand but fell back down. Her head throbbed and her jaw hurt. Images of the night before began to creep back into her memory. She was trying to get away from a group of men, someone had grabbed her taking her to safety. The last thing she remembered was he's the one that hit her. There was something about that man she needed desperately to remember but her brain wasn't cooperating. She was startled by a knock on her door.

"Cait, are you in there" the voice franticly called out. "Cait answer me."

Cait looked at the clock. It was noon. She was supposed to be at the shoot at ten. She moved slowly to the door letting Steve in.

"Cait where the hell have you been, I've been worried sick trying to call your cell phone….."

Steve stopped as he caught a glimpse of the bruise on her face. "Damn it Cait, what happened to you? Are you OK?"

Cait stepped to the mirror. Her chin was bruised. Now she understood why it hurt so badly.

Steve headed to the phone picking it up. "Is this the front desk? I need you to connect me with the local police."

Cait ran to the phone and taking it from him she hung up. "There's no need to call the police. I can't tell them anything because I don't know who it was that did this."

Steve was pacing the floor. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I tried to break up a fight between two men last night and was hit in the process. I'm fine."

"What would make you think you could or should break up a fight?"

Cait didn't have the time or energy to explain that in her former life she was a cop and her reaction was a natural one. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. We had better get to the shoot."

Steve ran his finger over her bruised face. "How are we going to do a shoot with this?"

"Oh I hadn't thought about that."

"Cait I need to tell the client that we will have to postpone for a few days. They may report this to the authorities rather you want to or not. Why don't you lie back down and get some rest. I'll check on you later."

Cait agreed as she saw Steve to her door. She sat on the end of the bed trying to make sense of last night. Something was bothering her. That man, the one that helped her. Why would he risk his life for her and then knock her out cold. She decided to retrace her steps. Maybe that would help.

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As Cait was leaving the lobby she decided to stop by the desk to see if anyone saw her being brought in last night.

"Excuses me. Can you help me?"

"Miss O'Shannessy, I'm glad to see you're OK." The clerk said with a concerned look.

"So you must have been here last night. Did you see who brought me in?"

"Yes I did, he said he worked with you and asked for your key."

"Did he say why he needed to bring me here?"

The clerk was trying to be discreet so no one else could hear. "He said you had a little too much to drink and fell and hit your head. Don't worry, it was late and no one else saw him take you to your room."

Cait looked concerned. The man knew what she was thinking. "To put your mind at ease, the man left only minutes after taking you upstairs."

"Oh, well thank you. I appreciate your help."

Cait turned to leave the hotel determined to retrace her steps hoping it would jar her memory.

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St. John was sitting at his laptop starring at the information he had requested. "Damn, damn, damn" he said as he slammed his hand down on the table. On the screen was a picture of Cait. He had gone through her things getting her name off her passport. Of all the people he could have helped why did it have to be someone that had worked with String and Dom? What were the odds of that happening he thought? If he wanted he could run it through his software to calculate but knowing how astronomical the odds would have been would have infuriated him even more. He wasn't ready to let his superiors know about the situation. Their way of handling it may not be something he could carry out. She didn't seem like the kind of person that would just walk away from what happened. If she knew String well enough she knew finding his brother was important. He needed a plan and he needed it fast. Six years of undercover operations was about to be blown wide open.

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Cait found that as she walked the same path she took last night things were starting to come back to her. She came to the shop she was in when the fight broke out. Turning around she spotted a small abandoned building. It was familiar. She headed over to it. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Small flashes of what had taken place flooded her mind. Her eyes widened. "St. John" She said out loud. "It was St. John." Cait found a chair in the room and sat down. This was more than she was able to comprehend. She had to find him again. String needed to know his brother was alive. Before she told him anything she needed to be absolutely sure. He had been given so many false leads in the past. Getting his hopes up to only let him down again was not something she wanted to do. There was only one person she could trust to help her with this. Taking out her phone she dialed Michael's number.

After a long conversation with Michael she needed to get back to the hotel. He was going to send her the most resent picture of St. John that he had. She planned on printing it off then hitting the streets asking if anyone knew him. She would start with this area. He had to be there for a reason when the fight broke out. Michael was going to dig even deeper to see if he was working for any branch of the Military or Special Forces. He agreed that it was best not to let String in on it until they knew something. She had a few days to accomplish what String had spent years doing. She prayed she could pull it off.

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String sat in his fishing boat on the lake. He had been trying to climb out of the blue mood he had found himself in since Cait left. It seemed to get worse instead of better with time. He thought about going to see her when she got back from Saudi Arabia but he didn't know how she would feel about seeing him again. It seemed like she had adjusted to her new life and was happy. He baited his hook and cast the line out into the water. For some reason he had an uneasy feeling that had been nagging him since yesterday. Michael hadn't needed him or Dom to take on any missions for the last several weeks now. So what was it that had his senses on edge? He trusted his instincts, they rarely let him down.

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Cait was back on the streets with the photo of St. John. Michael was still trying to find something out. He doubted he would. All these years the FIRM never did come up with a solid lead. She went back to the street where the abandoned building was. She stood outside looking around. Something bothered her about it. Why did St. John take her in there? Looking at it from the outside you wouldn't know it was abandoned. He must have known that before he took her there. She went in again. She played back every detail in her mind of what had taken place. She found a small oil lamp on the table and lit it. As she did a man knocked on the door.

"Muldoon, you in there?"

Cait rushed to get behind the door. The man carefully opened the door and entered. Seeing the lamp was lit the man looked around spotting Cait.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" he didn't appear to be a threat.

Cait pulled out the picture. "I'm looking for a friend. Can you tell me if you know this man?"

The man took the photo from her. "Well he's older now but that's Mike Muldoon. He rents this place from me. I haven't seen him in weeks."

Cait was excited to have a lead. Now if she could get the man to tell her more. "Do you know where he lives?"

"No, he pays me in cash. Other than that I don't know much about him."

"When does he pay you and how?"

The man was getting nervous over her questions. "He's not in any trouble is he?"

"No, his family has been looking for him for a long time. They really want to find him."

"He meets me here once a month with the cash. I don't ask any questions. He's kind of a loner."

"When is he supposed to meet you next?"

"Today, that's why I thought you were him"

Cait opened her purse. She was about to take a big risk. She didn't know if this man was harmless or not.

How bout I pay his rent so you don't have to stay?" The man looked as if he were thinking it over. Cait thought maybe he needed an incentive. "Let's say I give you twice what the rent is for your trouble. Will you take travelers checks?" The man nodded his head yes.

Cait found a café that was down from the building. She sat by a window so she could see anyone coming and going in that direction. She had been there for about two hours and drank as much coffee as she could stand. Her persistence paid off. She had only seen him briefly that night but it was him. It the light of day she was amazed at how much he looked like String. They even had some of the same mannerisms. No wonder she was confused when he kissed her. She watched him as he entered the building. She wondered how long he would wait for his landlord to show. If he was anything like String he would be impatient and leave after a short period of time. She was right, a half hour later she saw him leave. She had instructed his landlord not to answer his phone if St. John called. She hoped he did as she asked.

Paying for her coffee, she started tailing him. After walking about a half mile she was confident he was unaware he was being followed. She had brought a head scarf to cover her head so she wouldn't stand out as much. A few blocks more he entered what appeared to be a warehouse. Cait waited a few minutes before she approached the building. Going to the back she discovered an open window. She could hear voices inside. Looking in she saw a group of men in the middle of the warehouse. She couldn't hear what they were saying so she decided to climb through the window. She crept closer to the men an hid behind the large metal shelves that were stacked with boxes. St. John was talking with a group of Middle Eastern men.

"Do you have the weapons or not Muldoon? I have been patient with you long enough."

St. John didn't appear to be threatened by the man. "I told you my sources wanted to make sure you were who you said you were, and more to the point had the means to fund the deal."

Cait almost gasp out loud. St. John was an arms dealer. That would explain why he didn't want to be found.

The man was now in St. Johns face pointing a finger in his chest. "I am becoming impatient with you and your associates."

St. John took hold of the man's forearm firmly. "And what if you are? I told you before; if you want weapons from me it would be on my terms not yours."

The man jerked away. "You have three days to deliver what you promised. After that I will find another supplier."

"I can do that." St. John said as he held out his hand to seal the deal with a hand shake. Before he could there was a commotion on the other side of the warehouse. One of the terrorist was dragging Cait toward the group of men.

"I found her hiding over there." He pointed as he threw her to the floor in front of his leader.

The man reached down taking her by the arm jerking her up. "Who are you?" He said as he pulled the scarf from her head.

St. John had to keep his emotions in check. Any reaction from him would get them both killed. He had no idea what Cait would say so he spoke up before she could.

"She's with me." St. John said as he slapped her across the face. "I told you to stay put."

Cait was not expecting the slap or his explanation. Something told her not to say anything.

The man pulled her to him studying the bruise on her chin. Looking to St. John he said. "Is this you're doing?"

St. John pulled Cait out of his grasp and into his own effectively establishing who she belonged to and that he had control over the situation. "That's none of your business." He bit back.

"It is when she has knowledge of our operations." The man motioned for his men to take her. "She stays with us until we receive our weapons."

St. John's heart was beating faster but he still kept his cool. "No deal."

The man raised his gun to her head. "I did not say you have a choice here. Either you leave here without her or neither of you leave alive."

"I guess I have no choice then." St. John took her by the arm leading her away from the men so he could talk to her. The men did not object.

Cait flinched as he reached up to lightly touch the bruise he had caused. "I'm sorry I had to hit you twice. Under different circumstances I would never treat a woman this way. Especially one that cares this much for my brother."

Cait was stunned that he was now admitting to her who he was. "At least I care for him which is more than I can say for you."

"Cait we don't have the time to get into this. You need to listen to me and do as I ask. I work undercover with special ops. I've been trying to infiltrate this terrorist cell for two years. I need you to hang in there until I get them to take possession of the shipment. Don't tell them anything. The less communication you have with them the better. Can you do that for me?"

Cait wanted to tell him that she was no novice at this. He must not have done a thorough enough search on her or he would know she worked for the FIRM. She didn't know who he worked for and thought she should keep it to herself. Too many government agencies want to get their hands on Airwolf. His could be one of them.

Cait nodded yes. "I'll be fine." She said as she looked away from him.

St. John couldn't help but smile. He was attracted to her, something he had not allowed himself to do with a woman in six years. He took her face in his hands making her look at him, Cait they won't touch you. They are very devout in their beliefs. But make no mistake they will hurt or kill you if you give them a reason."

"I understand. Really, I can handle this."

With that St. John pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips. "I'll get you out of this, I promise."